Says this is the “right time” for such a consideration | There are ten in Maricopa County

Ruth Wicks

East side education advocate Ruth  Wicks urged  the Yavapai  Community College District Governing Board at the call to the public to consider initiating a study to assess the efficacy of establishing an Administrative model of operation.  An administrative model would have an east and west administrative college with a chancellor and each side of the County  would have its own dean and develop its own annual budget.  Wicks’ pointed out that there are ten administrative colleges in Maricopa County, commenting that the Board should not be “afraid” of considering such a model. 

While not providing independence to the east side, the administrative model would be a middle ground in terms of developing an individual community college identity on that side of the County.  It is hoped such a model would allow the east side of the County greater autonomy in creating post-secondary education goals for its residents.

Wicks pointed out that Yavapai County is huge with an area larger than at least six states of the United States (with few roads connecting the east and west sides). Moreover, a mountain range splits  the County almost down the middle and makes  accessibility by east-County residents to the main campus at Prescott very difficult, if at times not impossible. 

Wicks said that there are  about 80,000 residents living on the east side of the County with  a significant portion of the population under the poverty line. “There is  an increased need for face-to-face community college classes,” she said, because of the number of residents living at or below the poverty line on the east side of the County.     There is also a need for flexibility in meeting the needs of our non-traditional students, she said.

She compared the cost of operating Mingus High School in Cottonwood with the almost $90 million operation of the Community College.  According to her, Mingus High School in Cottonwood has 1,200 students, 135 employees with 65 of them being full-time faculty.  The annual Mingus budget is a little over $9 million.  It boasts a  full array of high school classes plus fine arts, Career and Technical Education classes, bus services, fall, winter, and spring athletics. 

Yavapai College has 11 full-time faculty at the Verde Campus and offers no transportation or athletic programs. 

Ms. Wicks address to the Board follows on the video clip below.

How long must the 80,000 east side residents be essentially pawns in the hands of those who do not work or live on their side of the mountain but who make all the important educational decisions for them?

Editor Robert Oliphant

EDITORIAL. It is fair to say that at the present time Yavapai Community College has a superb administration; probably one of the best if not the best it has ever had.  Bright, hard-working, committed administrators are at the top. 

 But there is a really big problem; it is not one of their making.  That problem is the archaic structure they were handed that was designed fifty years ago and has completely outgrown its usefulness. It was a structure completely centralized post-secondary community college education almost exclusively in Prescott, Arizona. At the time, it  met the immediate needs of a  County population with less than 37,000 residents.  Today, with a 2020 population estimated at more than 236,000 residents the structure does not work and is crying out for change.

 Because of the initial effort at centralization, which was never abandoned in any real form, Yavapai Community College has struggled for over 50 years to develop an effective community college system in the Verde Valley on the east side of Yavapai County.  By any account, its efforts have fallen far short of what one would expect; especially now that the population in the east side of the County has reached or will reach over 80,000 residents.   

Recall that at the time the decision to create a Community College District in Yavapai County was made a little over 50 years ago, to gain recognition from state authorities meant it had to meet certain legal requirements.  As a result, those wishing to establish  a community college in Yavapai County were forced  to include its  entire high school population and its entire land value. Today, whatever legal requirements are needed to create a Community College District, the residents of the East side of the county can meet them.

But for the legal requirements of 50 years ago,  creation of a single community college district encompassing  such a huge  land mass makes no sense.  The Yavapai Community College  District covers all of Yavapai County consisting of 8,125 square miles. The size of the County  is comparable  to states such as Connecticut (5,543 sq. miles — 12 community colleges and universities), Delaware (1,982 sq. miles — three community colleges and universities), Rhode Island (1,214 sq. miles— one public and two private community colleges)  and New Jersey (8,723 sq. miles — 19 community colleges and universities). The state of Israel encompasses  8,550 square miles (ten universities and 53 colleges).

Today, most agree that Yavapai Community College  operates and resembles  a state college or university.  On the Prescott side of the County, it boasts  six athletic teams, athletic fields, a cadre of coaches, two residence halls, a major gymnasium, heated indoor swimming pool (including special therapy pool for seniors), professional tennis complex, weight complex, 104,000  square foot Career and Technical Education Center, and a state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center  (PAC) with an 1,100 seat ultra-modern auditorium — offering over 50 major theatre cultural performances annually and at least 20 free special events, probably many more. The College  offers more than a dozen  of music and performing arts courses not offered elsewhere.  It  will be offering four-year degrees shortly.

 It has even dropped the name “Community College” in favor of being called “Yavapai College.”

The Community College Governing Board is dominated by west county Governing Board politicos who in 2012-13 boldly approved a $103.5 million plan to further develop the institution with less than 5% of development flowing to the east side of the County.  The Community College top administrators, including its president, are all based in Prescott or Prescott Valley.  The vast majority of faculty and staff live and work on the Prescott side of the County. In any faculty vote, the Prescott-based faculty have an overwhelming majority over faculty located outside that area.

All major decisions regarding courses, construction of facilities, and other projects are ultimately decided by the Prescott-based executives.   The decisions come directly from Prescott and must be approved by them.  The current Dean of the Sedona Center/Verde Campus is not given a strong  voice in decision making; it is claimed she is required to spend at least one day a week off campus on the Prescott side of the County on matters unrelated to the east side.  Even the College Foundation is dominated and controlled almost entirely by the west side residents despite the fact that  the current president is from the Verde Valley.

The Governing Board holds one or two meetings a year on the east side of the County while all other meetings are held on the west side: most on the Prescott Campus.  The Community College Foundation meets monthly and only on the rarest of occasions has it ever met on the east side of the County.

There have been repeated calls over the years  for the Verde Valley to establish its own  independent community college, but those calls have fallen on deaf ears.    Others have called for a middle ground, which would result in the cooperative development between the east and west sides of the County of two administrative colleges — one for each side of the County.  In the Administrative model, the hope is that  the two administrative colleges would share common resources but independently prepare budgets and develop their own programs and projects. The pervasive influence of Prescott and its yoke of control would be somewhat loosened, or so it is hoped.

The two- County  administrative model would be developed in a flexible fashion that could best serve the unique needs of each side of the County.  The  framework would be  similar but not identical to the administrative college model  created in the Maricopa community county system over the past several years.

If an Administrative College were created,  a person such as Dr. Lisa Rhine, the current President of Yavapai Community College,  would normally become the chancellor in the Community  College District. She would provide overall direction to both the east and west sides of Yavapai County’s two administrative community colleges, each of which has its own Administrative President. 

But ever since the idea has been broached some ten years ago, the Prescott-based executives and a majority on the Governing Board have ignored it.  Former Governing Board East side representative Al Filardo resigned in 2016 in part over the refusal of the Governing Board to agree to make an independent assessment about developing an administrative college on the east side of the County. Joel Staadecker, a 16 year Sedona resident, urged the Sedona Mayor and Council at the September 27, 2016, meeting to join him and others to persuade the Governor and State Legislature to create an independent taxing district for an independent Verde Valley community college.   We “must get out from under the crushing oppression of the Yavapai College governance system, leadership and management that resides and works on the West side of  Mingus Mountain for the benefit of the Prescott region communities,” he said.

It was no accident that back in 2016 two days after the Verde Valley Forum, attended by about 100 participants from all over the east side, recommended that an unbiased, independent study be conducted to examine the establishment of an independently governed community college in the Verde Valley, the Prescott dominated Governing Board effectively abolished the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee had made over 20 recommendations to the Governing Board with almost all of them ignored.

Aside from the cruel yoke history and political domination by the west side of the County over the east side, sometimes one asks, “are there any real benefits to an east side community college?”  Well, yes, there are many. 

The following is a list of some of the possible benefits that the East Region residents might receive if an Administrative College or, for that matter, an independent community college model were created.  Included are some  historic examples to illustrate and support the view that it’s time to create either an administrative community college or a completely independent community college in the Verde Valley.  The benefits  are not listed in any particular order of priority.

Share a common vision

An Administrative College may help bring the various communities in the East Region together in a common cause. With an Administrative College controlled by East Region residents, the small communities and towns that make up a total of more than 75,000 residents may more easily come to share a common vision of developing a strong post-secondary community college. It may also help reduce the competitive, non-cooperative, bickering spirit that communities and other institutions in the East Region sometimes exhibit.

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Benefits to Verde Valley appear very significant

Editorial Opinion

OPINION.  Yavapai Community College has struggled for 50 years to develop an effective community college system in the Verde Valley on the east side of Yavapai County.  At best, its efforts have fallen far short of what one would expect; especially now that the population in this area has increased to over 75,000.   Furthermore, the unequal community college development over the past half century between the east and west sides of the County is  very troubling.

There are probably many reasons to explain the lack of success in developing a strong community college in the Verde Valley. However, one possible approach to begin changing failure to success is to create an administrative college from the existing community college framework. 

A change would require that the Prescott side of the Mountain also adopt an administrative community college framework.  This framework is similar to the many administrative colleges created in the Maricopa community county system over the past several years.

If created,  Dr. Lisa Rhine, the current President of Yavapai Community College  would become the chancellor in the Community  College District and provide overall direction to both the east and west sides of Yavapai County’s two administrative community colleges. 

The following is a list of some of the possible benefits that the East Region residents might receive if an Administrative College were established along with several historic examples to illustrate a point. They are not listed in any particular order.

Share a common vision

An Administrative College may help bring the various communities in the East Region together in a common cause. With an Administrative College controlled by East Region residents, the small communities and towns that make up a total of more than 75,000 residents may more easily come to share a common vision of developing a strong post-secondary community college. It may also help reduce the competitive, non-cooperative, bickering spirit that communities and other institutions in the East Region sometimes exhibit.

Greater school district cooperation

An Administrative College may provide the basis for encouraging the school districts in the East Region of the County to join in a common integrated, shared educational experience. Past history has shown that the school districts in the East Region of the County are not necessarily always united in a way that is helpful. For example, it has taken more than a decade to get the school districts to jointly agree to consider sending high school students to a tiny, centralized career and technical education center as a part of the Joint Education District (JTED). By comparison, since 2007 the school districts in the West Region of the County have embraced the Mountain Institute JTED and centralization of major CTE learning programs under the Community College CTEC umbrella.

Citizens retain a larger portion of their property tax revenue

An Administrative College may help East Region citizens retain a larger portion of their property tax revenue going to the Community College by providing a stronger voice to Governing Board members about how and where the taxes should be spent.

More return of tuition, grants, fees

An Administrative College should provide a greater potential for returning some of the tuition payments, state aid, grants, and fees paid by or as a result of East Region students attending the College to the East Region.

Greater share of construction tax

An Administrative College should allow the East Region to receive a greater share of the revenue produced by the County annual new construction tax collected by the Community College.

More aggressive CTE development

An Administrative College may encourage greater consideration among the 74,000 residents of the East Region in more aggressive development of a centralized College Career and Technical Education Center.

Dual enrollment program cooperation

An Administrative College should encourage closer coordination between the College and the three public high schools and one charter school in the East Region in operating the dual enrollment program. The dual enrollment programs at those four high schools in the East Region allow qualified high school students to simultaneously obtain high school and college credit for certain courses.

Possibly local athletic projects

An Administrative College may provide an opportunity for creating local athletic programs in the East Region (where currently there are none).

Own identity and traditions

An Administrative College should provide the East Region with its “own identity and traditions.” It is believed that students attending an educational institution like to feel that it has its own traditions, its own plan, and its own programs. They don’t like to feel, does the argument, that their community college is just an off-shoot or a branch of another controlling institution.

Perceived ownership

An Administrative College should permit East Region residents to fully participate in the selection of their own administrative campus president. As a result of their “ownership,” it is argued that East Region citizens will naturally more easily see themselves as real owners and participants in the future of the Community College.

Greater voice in decision making

An Administrative College should provide a stronger administrative voice acting on behalf of the East Region because of the selection of a president.

Fair competition between regions

An Administrative College may provide an opportunity for the two regions to compete for scarce resources more fairly. With the existence of a president of an Administrative College in place representing the East Region, that person can compete annually on a level financial playing field for scarce educational dollars with the Prescott President who represents the interests of the West Region of the County. (Budgets go through a Chancellor and then to the Governing Board.)

More long-term consistency in programs

An Administrative College should help reduce the chances of dramatic alterations of programs when there is a College President changeover. For example, when the Sedona Center was built, it had a strong supporter in then College President Doreen Daily. However, in 2013 former President Penelope Wills stunned the East County region by announcing she was shutting down the Film School and potentially putting the Center up for sale as a part of a ten year plan.

Former President Daily was also a champion of bringing Career and Technical Education training to Northern Arizona. She promoted and began developing the Northern Arizona Regional Training program on the Verde Campus, which was intended to teach career and technical education (CTE) skills to students in at least three counties. Three years after Daily resigned, the new College President and the Community College Governing Board, essentially shut down a focus on trade instruction at the Northern Arizona Regional Training program that Daily had promoted.

Gain better knowledge of local culture

An Administrative College should provide a greater opportunity for the East Region Community College President and staff to gain intimate knowledge of the East Region of Yavapai County and its culture.

No traveling back and forth over the mountain

As a practical matter, an Administrative College should reduce, if not eliminate, travel time to meetings by staff and faculty to either side of the County. Currently, the perception is that East Region staff and administrators spend significant amounts of travel time away from East Region duties by traveling back and forth to the West Region for a variety of meetings. It may take a half day or more out of their work on in the East Region’s community college.

Develop East County Student government

An Administrative College on the East Region of the County may help stimulate restoration of a vibrant student government in the East Region’s college.

Working more closely with Yavapai-Apache nation

An Administrative College should provide a better opportunity for the Community College to work more closely with the Yavapai-Apache nation.

Left out towns and villages

An Administrative College should provide greater focus and consideration of “left out” pockets of the population in the East Region such as Cornville, Village of Oak Creek, Beaver Creek, Rimrock and others.

Better data gathering and reporting

An Administrative College should result in more accurate gathering of data regarding costs associated with operating Verde Campus and Sedona Center.

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Funding, revised structure pose challenges for Community College President in effort to enhance post-secondary learning opportunities in the County 

The Blog has prepared a 39 page essay written this month (August 2019) by Professor Emeritus Robert Oliphant that collects most of the reasons that are given for creating an independent or quasi-independent community college in the east region of Yavapai County, Arizona.  Obstacles facing the College’s new president when considering the potential for such as facility in the East Region (about 74,000 residents now live there) include money and how to effectively reorganize staff to achieve an acceptable result at the lowest possible cost.

Creation of an administrative college would give the East Region a community college with its own name and local executives, including a president, to operate it.  There would be little or no change to current staffing or buildings.  The increased cost would be incurred because  an Administrative College would require a set-up somewhat similar to what one sees in Maricopa County. That is, the College would be overall directed by a Chancellor with the east and west regions having their own presidents.  It is estimated that propertly staffing a Chancellor’s office would cost at least $1 million dollars.

It is believed, however, that the costs associated with reorganization and naming would be far outpaced  by increased local economic development, local student enrollment, and local community involvement in the East region of the County.  Some argue that the current College administrative set-up is somewhat akin to the Prescott City Manager running the cities and towns in the East Region from his desk on the west side of the County. The analogy is not perfect but seems to more or less frame the question.

For those seriously interested in the future of post-secondary education in Yavapai County, the essay is a very good place to begin the thinking process.  You may access the essay by clicking here.COMPLETE ESSAY

Strongly suggests Valley should receive back about 35% of $80 million College annually spends rather than an estimated 13% it now receives; it’s time for an Administrative College

The newest population and business data strongly suggests that Yavapai Community College should invest much more annually in the Verde Valley than its current estimated $10 to $12 million dollars of its $80 million dollar budget. 

The current Verde Valley population is reported by the Verde Valley Economic Development organization at 72,461, which is 31% of the total Yavapai County population.  (A study used in January 2018  by the College put the east County population at 74,663, west County population at 145,776 and 12,296 other.)  The Verde Valley also has 3,654 business establishments, which is 39.3% of all businesses in the County.  All of the data was contained in the Verde Valley Economic Development Organization  2018-2023 Strategic Plan.

The residents and businesses all pay property taxes that are now the primary source of support for the Community College. Data has repeatedly shown a significant portion of those taxes is being used to develop programs and projects for the citizens on the west side of the County. 

The Valley has many needs including a robust Career and Technical Education facility, student residence hall, expanded viticulture program with expanded labs, expanded culinary program and additional facilities, expanded nursing  training facilities, sound stage to develop its film program, a small indoor performing arts facility to develop its performing arts curriculum, a robust music program, etc. It is very clear that only with an Administrative College, which will give the 72,461 residents some control over how their tax money is spent, will the Valley have any chance at developing and expanding any of these programs and the curriculum on the Verde Campus or at the Sedona Center.

Here are ten common-sense reasons why the 70,000 Yavapai east-county residents deserve to be the captain of the direction of the community college ship on their side of Mingus Mountain

For the past 50 years, West Yavapai County politicians have maintained iron-fisted political control over community college development in Yavapai County. This has resulted in the development of a first-rate community college campus plus three outstanding centers on the west side of the County. However, the east side of the County has been marginalized. 

Now, with a population of over 70,000, the east side of the County is ready for its turn in terms of serious development.  A first step would be creative development of an administrative college run by administrators living on the east side of the County who cooperate and work together with the west side of the County. Astonishingly, it would only require three votes on the current Community College Board to set in motion the creative development of an Administrative College.

Unfortunately, if the Governing Board and the Community College President are unwilling to creatively develop the college on the east side of the County, then it is time for east side residents to seriously seek state legislation to enact a separate taxing district to support badly needed community college development.  The following are ten reasons supporting the conclusion that it is time for development of an Administrative College on the east side of the County.

1. Philosophically, there are few virtues more important than independence. An Administrative college, with its limited independence on the east side of the county, would reflect the values and culture of the residents it is intended to serve. It would be independent from having every action affecting the east-county residents filtered through the Prescott based college administration. That administration, almost naturally, history tells us, is quick to fall prey to heavy west-side influence. Without independence, the control yoke around the necks of east-county residents will never be removed and there is no hope of countering the west-county influence on the college administration. An administrative college is a gentle beginning.
2. With a population of over 70,000 residents, the east-county can easily support an Administrative College. Revenue to support the east-county community college will come from primary and secondary taxes already being paid by east county residents, most of which remain on the west side of the County.  More specifically, an Administrative College would return some of the $7 to $8 million annually paid by east county residents in taxes but retained and used on the west side of the county. In addition to these taxes, the east county residents would receive revenue generated from tuition paid by east-county students, state aid, government grants, and a portion of the County new construction tax. Without question, there is ample revenue to support a strong Administrative Community College on the east side of the County.
3. An Administrative College will provide focus so that serious consideration of the development of a centralized College Career and Technical Education Center (CTE) can be undertaken. Because of local focus, attentiveness and involvement, its development can be undertaken with the cooperation and input from the four high schools (3 public, 1 private) and the Yavapai-Apache Nation. With this input, the facility will be better able to reflect the present and future CTE needs of the east-county residents. It is noted that today, the College operates one of the finest Career and Technical Education Centers in the nation at the Prescott airport on the west side of the County. However, that Center was opened in 2007 with little or no consideration for the east-county residents and high school students.  Since opening, it has provided hundreds high school students on the west side of the county with sophisticated learning opportunities that opened to them job opportunities that are not available to students on the east side.  That inequity in training must be ended.
4. An Administrative College will generate east-county pride. It will give east-county residents their own community college “identity and traditions.” Most believe that students attending an educational institution like to feel that it has its own traditions, its own plan, and its own programs. They don’t like to feel that their community college is just an off-shoot or branch of another controlling institution. An East side Administrative college will respond to these feelings by generating its own identify and own traditions.
5. An Administrative College provides an opportunity for the Administrative College President and staff, who reside on the east side of the County, to gain intimate knowledge of east-county culture, needs, and values. An Administrative College President living the Verde Valley is in a much better position to understand the culture of the east side of the County than, for example, an Executive Dean or college president who lives in Chino Valley, Prescott or Prescott Valley, on the West side of the County. With that knowledge, an east side President can respond to the cultural diversity of the east side of the county in a way that an administration located on the west side of the County, no matter how it tries, will find extremely challenging.
6. An east-county Administrative College will improve communication between east-county residents and the college and result in the east-county citizen voices being heard and respected. One example of how little the east county is respected by the current Administration and three-member voting block representing the West side of the County is the record of the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee. This Committee was recreated to explain to the Governing Board the needs of east-county residents. However, repeatedly over a two-year period (2014-2016) recommendations were made to the Governing Board by the Committee and ignored by the West-County Voting Bloc who are a majority on the Board. For example, Mr. Paul Chevalier, speaking for the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee (VVBAC), suggested at the November 9, 2015 Governing Board meeting that the Governing Board, College administrators, and the VVBAC hold a series of joint meetings to work out solutions to the VVBAC’s 16 recommendations for improving post-secondary education on the east side of the county. Mr. Chevalier stated that to resolve the post-secondary educational issues raised by the VVBAC, it would take cooperation among everyone to solve them–the Board, the administration, and the VVBAC. He invited everyone to consider a joint meeting to discuss the issue. However, that cooperation and joint meeting never came.  In fact, the VVBAC was shut down by the west county majority at an almost secret meeting in September 2016 over vigorous objection of the two east-county representatives.
7. An Administrative College will improve the economy on the east side of the county. An Administrative College can be a vehicle that becomes a driving economic/educational engine similar to the. economic/economic engine now existing on the west side of the county. Recall that a community with a strong community college economic/educational engine receives many benefits including: (a) an almost recession proof employer with a healthy employee payroll, (b) an employer who is able to help stimulate the local economy because its employees provide an increased demand for housing, food, autos, etc., (c) an employer who delivers educational programs that stimulate educational development for students and nonstudents in the area, (d) an employer that attracts new residents because of the community college reputation, which in turn brings new revenue to a community, (e) an employer who produces a well-educated work pool, which in turn attracts new employers, (f) an employer can help sell an area as a welcome tourist destination, and an employer attuned to the cultural needs of the area.
8. An Administrative College will provide greater access to post-secondary education for the residents and children on the east side of the county. Clearly, with a full service program, access to post-secondary education on the east side of the county for the poor, working mothers and fathers, and part-time employees seeking training for new job opportunities will be improved. Currently, this is often not possible for east-county residents because of an absence of many good roads, public or college transportation, and distance. These obstacles prevent those seeking post-secondary education from having reasonable access to learning opportunities that would advance them in this society.
9. An Administrative College will provide an opportunity for closer and better coordination between the four high schools on the east side of the county, the Yavapai-Apache Nation, and Yavapai Community College. Close, intimate working relationships between the high school superintendents, the Nation and Yavapai Community College staff are essential for strong, focused educational development. With an Administrative College, and its ability to focus only on east-county issues, this type of cooperation will be possible.
10. An Administrative College will provide focused examination of the many needs and projects associated with serious east-side development.  Some of the potential projects include:  Expanding the vineyard to 50 acres to develop 300 to 500 new scholarships from profit; building a unique, self-sustaining residential facility with many uses to house a core student body of 150; consideration of a 450 seat theater along with development of a serious performing arts and music program; centralized CTE campus; more and better courses, etc.

Thirty-two reasons supporting an independent community college encompassing Sedona, Camp Verde, Cottonwood, and the remainder of the Verde Valley

Over the past 50 years, West Yavapai County politicians have maintained iron-fisted political control over the nature and scope of development of a community college that would encompass Sedona, Camp Verde, Cottonwood and the Verde Valley.  The time has come for the 70,000 citizens living on the East side of Yavapai County to remove the political yoke of control exercised by the West County politicians over community college development. It is time to create an Administrative College or ask the State Legislature to create an independent community college district or a new county.

Philosophically, there are few virtues more important than independence. Independence is a requirement for building a strong Community College on the East side of the County that reflects the values and culture of its residents. How can citizens effectively make decisions about the future of post-secondary education on the East side of the County if every action they recommend has to be filtered through the Prescott based and Prescott influenced Yavapai College Administration? And then have the Administration’s recommendation submitted to a five member Community College Governing Board with three members from the west side of the County who are likely to vote as a bloc on any recommendation that favors them?

Without independence, East County citizens can’t be the captain of their own Community College ship. At best, they must be satisfied scrubbing the decks while the powerful West-County Voting Bloc sets the direction they must follow. The following is a list of benefits, in no particular order, that would flow to the residents on the East side of Yavapai County were an independent and/or Administrative College be allowed to form.  The benefits to the East County residents of independence are overwhelming. 

THE BENEFITS OF INDEPENDENCE

1. Independence will stimulate bringing the various communities together in a common cause. With a Verde Valley Community College controlled by East side residents, the small communities and towns that make up a total of more than 70,000 residents who reside on that side of the County will have a common cause, which is to develop the East County’s own community college. Independence will bring the communities together in a positive way and reduce the sometimes competitive nature they sometimes exhibit.
2. Independence will encourage the school districts on the East side of the County to work together in a common cause. Experience has shown that the school districts on the East side of the County are not sometimes united in a way that is helpful. For example, it has taken more than a decade to get the school districts to jointly agree to consider sending high school students to a tiny centralized career and technical education center as a part of the Joint Education District (JTED). By comparison, the school districts on the West side of the County have embraced the Mountain Institute JTED and centralization of major learning programs at facilities constructed and paid for by Yavapai College from property taxes paid by all County residents.
3. Independence will allow citizens to apply property tax revenue raised in the Verde Valley to the Verde Valley. Today, a conservative estimate is that Verde Valley citizens pay a total of $14 to $15 million a year in primary and secondary property taxes to support Yavapai Community College. The College estimates it costs about $7 million annually to operate the Verde Campus and Sedona Center. In addition to primary property taxes, another estimated $1.5 million or more is used to pay off the College’s General Obligation Bond debt using secondary taxes. The excess tax revenue over operational costs is at least $5.5 million and probably much more. Usually, that excess revenue goes to the West side of the County where it supports West County projects. With independence, East County residents can apply all of their tax revenue to enhance post-secondary educational learning opportunities solely to their side of the County.
4. Independence allows tuition payments, state aid, grants, and fees paid by or because of Sedona/Verde Valley students to remain on the East side of the County. Today, Sedona/Verde Valley students enrolled at Yavapai Community College pay tuition. All tuition revenue, State aid, and student fees go to support programs on the West side of the County. (Recall that primary taxes paid by citizens fully support current operations at the Verde Campus and Sedona Center.) It is estimated that the total collected from East County students in these categories is about $1.6 million. With independence, East County residents can control this revenue and apply it to the Verde Valley Community College in Clarkdale and the Sedona Center. It can improve facilities and learning opportunities in Camp Verde and in the other rural areas of East Yavapai County.
5. Independence will allow Sedona and the Verde Valley to share in the “new construction” tax collected from throughout the County but usually all goes toward community college projects on the West side of the County. Each year the College receives from $500,000 to $800,000 in revenue because of a County tax on new construction. With independence, Sedona/Verde Valley residents can apply all of their share of the County new construction tax revenue to enhance post-secondary education on the East side of Yavapai County.
6. Independence will encourage serious consideration of the development of a centralized College Career and Technical Education Center. Today, the College operates one of the finest Career and Technical Education Centers (CTEC) in the nation at the Prescott airport. It was opened in 2007 and has continued to grow since then. Unfortunately, the East side of the County has been ignored.

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Urges Board to consider Maricopa Model to reduce post-secondary educational inequity between east and west County; says 70,000 citizens now on east side to support new college compared to less than 40,000 in entire County when College began in late 1960s

Ruth Wicks addressed the Governing Board at its November 2017 meeting regarding a statement made by West-County Voting Bloc member Pat McCasland at the October meeting that things will “never, ever be equal” in terms of learning opportunities between the east and west sides of Yavapai County.  Wicks urged the Board to examine the Maricopa model to reduce the enormous inequality between the two sides of the County.

She pointed out that an administrative college is completely sustainable on the east side of the County with more than 70,000 citizens now living on that side of the County.  When the College was begun in the late 1960s, she reminded the Board there were less than 40,000 citizens in the entire County.

You may view Wicks addressing the Board on this subject in the video below.