Since 2014 she has continued to argue for greater Community College transparency and accountability; After Filardo resigned, she is alone in questioning Wills’ requests for more buildings, higher tuition, and  increasing property taxes

There is currently only one member of the five-member Yavapai Community College District Governing Board who is seriously concerned about input from County taxpayers rather than blindly following the dictates of College President Penelope Wills. There is also only one person who consistently and seriously questions spending millions each year on buildings rather than on programs; or has opposed property tax and tuition increases.  That person is Deb McCasland.  (Note that not one person on the  West County majority on the Governing Board — Sigafoos, Irwin, McCarver — has ever  dissented in the last several years (2013-2017) from a proposal coming from the Wills’ administration.  McCasland has dissented several times during that period.)

Representative Deb McCasland

Since she was elected in 2014 she has steadfastly argued that taxpayers should have more input into how their money is spent by the College and on what.   For example, at the September 2017 Governing Board meeting she stated that “We need to have meaningful and detailed discussions with owners on a regular basis. The Board governs on behalf of ALL the owners, and must make decisions in the best interests of the owners as a whole.”  

She went on to say that the Policy Governance model the Board claims it follows should have “the Owners [taxpayers] providing information to the Board.” Once the Board receives that information, it is then supposed to “refine those needs . . . into Ends statements that direct the work of the college . . .. The [College] then reports on progress towards those ends with specific, measurable monitoring reports.”  

She charged that  “We aren’t doing this.  We need to spend more time talking with the owners, and in Board discussions to evaluate our current needs and what Ends will work.”  

Recall McCasland’s well thought out opposition to the completely unneeded property tax rate increase approved 3-2 in 2015. (See video below.)  And her continued support for County citizens at the September Board meeting.  (See second video below.)  Unfortunately, with Al Filardo off the Board, she no longer has a single member joining her in her efforts to bring greater transparency and accountability to the citizens of Yavapai County.

Board holds eight hour retreat without providing adequate sound for member suffering from serious hearing disability

The Yavapai Community College Governing Board showed insensitivity to fellow Board member Deb McCasland’s hearing disability while running an eight hour retreat off campus on September 16 at the Hassayampa Inn. McCasland, who the Board knows suffers from a serious hearing disability, was unable to hear Board members during the retreat because the Board/College failed to provide microphones for the members.

At the Governing Board meeting held one-day following the retreat, September 17 2017,  Community College President  Penelope Wills indicated that had she known before the retreat about McCasland’s issue with the sound system  that something would have been done to accommodate her. McCasland replied that she had specifically made the need for a speaker system  known at the prior Governing Board meeting (Wills was present).

Wills then apologized.

You may view the brief exchange between McCasland, Wills and Board Chair Sigafoos on the video below.