Obtains formal approval by a 4-1 vote at January 16 meeting; a major victory for transparency, accountability, and democracy

Mr. Ray Sigafoos
Mr. Ray Sigafoos
Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter has announced the finalists to fill the Third District Yavapai Community College Governing Board seat. They are Dr. Jack Dillenberg of Jerome, Mrs. Stephanie Harrison of Sedona, and Mr. Toby Payne of Clarkdale; Cathy Ransom from Cottonwood didn’t make the final cut; winner to be announced March 10.
The following is a portion of Mr. Carter’s press release regarding the selection:
As has been the historical precedent for community college appointments, Superintendent Carter has appointed a five (5) member Candidate Review Committee. Committee members reside in District 3. The committee is made up of a taxpayer, a faculty member, a student, an elected official, and a person who works in the area of workforce development.
The committee met on Tuesday, February 28th in Cottonwood to review letters of interest, resumes, and letters of recommendation. The committee drafted a set of questions to be used for the interviews and determined three finalists who will be interviewed in Sedona on March 6th.
The candidates are listed in alphabetical order:
Dr. Jack Dillenberg of Jerome. Bachelor of Science from Tulane University, Masters Degree in Public Health from Harvard and Doctorate at New York University, College of Dentistry. Previous Assistant Director and Director with both the Arizona and California Department of Health Services and Dean Emeritus of the A.T. Still’s University’s Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health. Former Mayor of Jerome. Serves on the Arizona State Supreme Court Attorney Discipline Committee.
Mrs. Stephanie Harrison of Sedona. Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University in Dental Hygiene and a Masters of Arts in Health Services Management from Webster University. Previous administrative work with both Delta College and the Community College of Denver, holding several senior leadership positions. Currently working part time with Dr. Whetman’s Dental Office in Sedona. She and her husband enjoy an active lifestyle. She is active with several outdoor groups.
Mr. Toby Payne of Clarkdale. A native of Phoenix. Attended Phoenix College. As an entrepreneur, founded Stage Sound and began touring with Andy Williams, Sammy Davis Jr., Waylon Jennings, etc. Designed and supplied the sound system for The Papal Visit at ASU. Clients include major sports arenas and churches of all sizes. Served on the Cave Creek Unified School District Governing Board, serving as President twice. Married 41 years. Member Clarkdale-Verde Kiwanis Club.
Members of the public from District 3, will have an opportunity to email their views of the candidates to Mr. Carter (Tim.carter@yavapaiaz.gov) or to meet personally with him for a 10-minute meeting from noon to 4 pm on Thursday, March 9th at the Sedona Campus of Yavapai College. The meetings will be on a first come, first basis. Prior to making the final selection, the Superintendent will also meet separately with each of the currently seated Yavapai College Board Members for their input on the finalists.
The appointment should be announced by Friday, March 10th. The term begins upon taking the Oath of Office on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 and will be valid through December 31, 2024. To continue beyond that date, the successful candidate will need to run for the seat in the 2024 general election for a new six-year term beginning January 1, 2025. If you have any questions, please call Mr. Carter at 928-925-6560 (cell).
Board meeting at CTEC
Editor Robert Oliphant
Community College President Dr. Lisa Rhine
District Governing Board Trustees Chair Deb McCasland
Deb McCasland
Second District Representative Deb McCasland continues to urge the members of the Governing Board to consider open discussions about the future of the College and to respect diverse opinions. The self-evaluation conducted by the Board at the end of the January meeting reflects McCasland’s concern with these issues. Since elected in 2014, McCasland has consistently made these suggestions to the Board. So far, the Board has refused to openly discuss the future of the College other than to touch on it in its vague ends statements that shed little actual light on the issue. Ray Sigafoos and Pat McCarver appear dead set against discussing the future of the College in any concrete way that would give citizens a hit of its direction. However, McCarver seemed to grasp McCasland’s point on open discussion and respect for different points of view.
The Yavapai Community College Governing Board has set no specific goals for President Penelope Wills to meet in 2018. The reason there are no goals for Wills is the Board’s love and inaccurate understanding of the Carver model of policy governance. For example, the Board could set a goal for Wills to increase enrollment by 1%. Or, direct Wills to reduce the annual capital spending of primary tax dollars of from $6 to $8 million by 50% and put that revenue into educational programs and faculty salaries. But nothing as specific as this appears anywhere in the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board world.
As a consequence, Yavapai County citizens, whose property taxes now provide a majority of the funding for the College, are left in the dark about the President Penelope Wills’ performance during a given period. President Wills no doubt loves the approach because it removes here from being accountable to the citizens who pay her salary.
The question being asked by citizens in Yavapai County of Yavapai County Attorney and Yavapai County School superintendent Tim Carter is this: “What was the basis for changing the long-standing residency eligibility requirement for anyone seeking to sit on the College District Governing Board?”
Recall that for years the requirement was a one-year residency in the District. Applicant Connie Harris did not meet that residency requirement and the County Attorney and Carter changed it in December 2016. Carter said the state statute setting out requirements to sit on a school board did not apply. However, he did not explain how the current requirements were reached.
In response to a request from the Blog for an explanation for the changed residency requirement, the Yavapai County Attorney claimed attorney/client privilege, saying the following:
“Thank you for contacting the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office. No. Any legal advice we may have given to an elected official is covered by the attorney/client privilege.
Penny Cramer, Administrative Assistant to:
Sheila Polk, Yavapai County Attorney
Dennis McGrane, Chief Deputy Yavapai County Attorney
255 E. Gurley Street
Prescott, AZ 86301”
Here is the history of this issue. Recall that in the fall 2016 Mr. Carter posted an announcement of the opening on the Governing Board following the resignation of Mr. Al Filardo. As originally posted, the requirements were stated as follows:
To be eligible to hold this seat a person must be a registered voter in Yavapai County, be a citizen of the United States of America, be at least 18 years of age, possess their civil rights, have continually resided within the school district for at least one year immediately preceding taking office, and the candidate or their spouse cannot be employed by the district. [You may view the original posting by clicking here.]
When it was learned that applicant Connie Harris did not meet the one-year residency requirement, Carter contacted the County Attorney. According to Carter, he was advised by the County Attorney that there was no one-year residency requirement for the Board position.
Carter stated in the announcement eliminating the residency requirement that “It has now come to Superintendent Carter’s attention, and has been verified by the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office, that this [residency] requirement only applies to `School District Governing Boards’ and NOT to `Community College Governing Boards’”. He stated, “I am the responsible party for the posting and apologize for this error. As a result, I feel it is my obligation to re-post this position, so no resident is disenfranchised in any way. The integrity and fairness of the ultimate appointment is critical.” [You may view the revised posting by clicking here.]
The revised residency criteria then read:
To be eligible to hold the seat, a person must be a registered voter in Yavapai College District 3, a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age and possess their civil rights. The candidate and spouse may not be employed by Yavapai College. You may view the revised posting by clicking here.
The problem is that neither the County Attorney nor Mr. Carter will explain the statutory basis for the revised criteria, if one exists. How was this revised criteria reached? As noted above, the County Attorney refuses to disclose the criteria claiming attorney/client privilege. Mr. Carter has not responded to an email request for an explanation.
So, citizens in the County can only guess at how the revised criteria was arrived at. Why won’t the County public officials thoroughly explain the basis for the sudden change? Your guess is as good as mine.