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Yavapai Community College in Northern Arizona

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ENTHUSIASTIC/HOPEFUL SEDONA/VERDE VALLEY RESIDENTS TURN OUT FOR MASTER PLAN FORUM ON DECEMBER 6

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, December 9th, 2021

Participants express strong views on need for significant ten-year development on the Verde Valley Campus/Sedona Center for housing, enhancing CTE, expanding viticulture program, developing Sedona Center Culinary, paying more attention to outlying areas, and much more

Sedona/Verde Valley residents gathered in room 137 of building “M” on December 6 to voice their views on the future of the Verde Campus in Clarkdale and the Sedona Center. The gathering of around sixty included political representatives including Sedona’s mayor and vice mayor and members of the local town and city councils. There were also interested east side citizens and a few faculty from the Verde Campus.

For about 45 minutes the attendees shared their ideas on the future of the Verde Campus/Sedona Center. In general, they saw a need for faculty/student housing on campus, enhanced and expanded Career and Technical Education facilities, an enhanced and expanded vineyard and viticulture program, an expanded and improved culinary facility at the Sedona Center, and continued support and expansion of the allied health programs. They also encouraged the College to consider adding programs that are not included on the east side of the County (such as music and theatre).

There were concerns from some about the composition of the present ten-year plan steering committee, which consists of fourteen persons from Prescott and only two from the Verde Valley.

There were also expressions of concern among some that ten years ago the same planning team now once again doing the planning had created a $103.5 million dollar development plan with over 95% of development on the west side of the County. There were hopeful expressions that a new ten-year plan would not yield a similar result.

The discussion was directed by a member of the Smith Group consulting organization, the group that has been again hired to draft a ten-year development plan for the Community College.

Categories : ADMINISTRATION, OPINIONS, Politics

SEDONA RED ROCK NEWS TAKES ISSUE WITH VIEW THAT REPRESENTATIVE CHEVALIER SHOULD BE SILENCED AND STOP REPRESENTING VOTERS OF HIS DISTRICT

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, December 9th, 2021

Says Chevalier should “shake the dust, rattle the walls and bring the house down” when asking questions of the Community College about the impact of programs and projects on Verde Valley

Sedona Red Rock News Managing Editor Christopher Fox Graham

The Sedona Red Rock News was sharply critical of the treatment afforded Third District Yavapai Community College representative Paul Chevalier at the November 16 Governing Board meeting held at the Career and Technical Education Center located at the Prescott airport. In an editorial Managing Editor Christoper Fox Graham argued that Mr. Chevalier should continue to fight for his constituents; he should not be silenced.

Editor Graham wrote that Mr. Chevalier’s:

“job as an elected official is to fight for his constituents in District 3 and thus, every time a college staffer makes a presentation, Chevalier should ask, “how does this benefit my people in District 3?” Department heads are spending our tax dollars to educate our population and if they can’t demonstrate how it helps our students and benefits our taxpayers, then the program should be culled to make room for a better one that does help our residents.”

Editor Graham was also critical of Fourth District Representative Chris Kuknyo’s view that performing arts programs and courses offered only on the west side of the County are easily accessible to east side residents. Graham wrote that:

“Kuknyo then stated that any of these west side performing arts programs are`available’ to students on the east side. His false claim is misleading because geography exists. Programs are `available’ to anyone on the east side, but not offered here, meaning our taxpaying students have to drive 90 minutes a day to attend a class in Prescott. Kuknyo’s dumb claim is akin to saying Arizona has oceanfront beaches right there, on the west side of California.”

On silencing Mr. Chevalier, Editor Graham wrote that:

“Kuknyo explicitly wants Chevalier silenced; he told Verde Valley’s Chevalier to shut up and smile while the county community college steals our tax dollars and provides us nearly nothing while dumping our tax money on Prescott area campuses. That’s not hyperbole: Toward the end of the meeting, an irritated Chevalier asked the board, “So at public meetings, I should never mention discrepancies or inequities in the Verde Valley?”

“Not at all,” Kuknyo immediately answered. Kuknyo explicitly told Chevalier to stop representing us, his voters. If Kuknyo demands Chevalier’s silence, we demand Chevalier shake the dust, rattle the walls and bring the house down. We demand Chevalier get louder. We demand he be more combative about getting what our tax dollars pay for.”

There is much more to Mr. Graham’s editorial. You can read it in its entirety by clicking here. Or by clicking on the link below.

http://www.redrocknews.com/2021/12/04/yavapai-college-board-needs-to-retake-basic-geography/

Categories : OPINIONS, Politics

SHOULD THE VERDE VALLEY HAVE A STRONGER VOICE IN YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE?

By R. Oliphant

Friday, March 5th, 2021

Verde Campus Dean one of nine units who report to Vice President; not included among those in President’s Executive Leadership Team

Bob Oliphant: Editorial Opinion

OPINION: By all accounts, Yavapai Community College President Lisa Rhine is doing a great job. For the first time since 2000-2004, it appears legitimate efforts are being initiated by her to begin the challenging task of bringing significantly increased community college educational development to the 75,000 plus residents living on the east side of Yavapai County. That is great news.

However, one hopes that the new President will consider making some significant changes in the current reporting/operating Community College administrative structure that will provide the Verde Valley Campus Dean with a much stronger voice in the development and direction of the Verde Campus and Sedona Center. Here is why.

First, there is a strong belief, if not a perception, that the Verde Valley has been under almost total control of the Community College executives and a west side majority on the Governing Board for over fifty years. Verde residents are quick to point out that the result of this overarching control has been extensive, multi-million investments and development on the west side of the County by the Community College. Today, the facilities on the Prescott Campus are comparable, if not better, than any small college in the nation.

Second, when east County residents look with envy at the facilities and programs crammed on the west side of the County, they lament how their taxes have being spent. They see their taxes as having been funneled for decades to the west side of the County by the College to build and provide ongoing support for multi-million dollar projects found only on the west side. They include the huge Performing Arts Center, a large gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, child care training center, two residence halls, heated wading pool for seniors, a soccer training field, and a splendid new tennis complex.

Furthermore, they see that only on the west side of the County has the Community College focused on programs such as music, theatre, and athletics. For example, the Prescott Campus boasts a baseball team, volleyball team, softball team, two soccer teams and soon two basketball teams. Those teams play all their games and matches on the west side of the County. Furthermore, there is a burgeoning music program and an expanding theatre arts program. It just doesn’t seem fair to the east side residents that they should be so obviously left out of this development.

Third, from the perspective of many in the Verde Valley, the directive from the State Legislature that members of the Governing Board represent “all” of the citizens in Yavapai College has fallen far short of the mark. Repeatedly, decisions about how east County residents property taxes are spent are controlled by a west side majority. The result are decisions establishing facilities and programs that minimally benefit the east side while the west side enjoy the fruits of those east County taxes.

Fourth, given the fifty years of what some see as outright economic and educational development discrimination against the Verde Valley by the Community College and it Governing Board, the path to serious development on the east side of the County is extremely challenging, at best. The residents of the east side of the County are decades behind the west side in terms of Community College development. That gap will take years to overcome.

Fifth, east County residents believe that only with a persistent and extremely strong voice within the Community College’s structure coming from the east side of the County will development that has begun will continue to be aggressively pursued into the future. Therefore, at a minimum, the need to have the Verde Campus/Sedona Center at the forefront to the College’s administrative reporting structure.

Finally, to remove at least the perception of continued total control by Prescott over the Verde Campus and Sedona Center, one hopes the new President will consider the following: (1) Move the Verde Campus and Sedona Center Dean into her Executive Leadership Team. (2) Move the reporting line of the Verde Campus and Sedona Dean to the same level as all Vice Presidents who report directly to the President. (3) Create a position of Career and Technical Education Director for the Verde Valley and use this position to replace Dean John Morgan, whose Community College hands appear more than full with a host of CTE projects on the west side of the County.

These structural administrative changes would be a welcome improvement that is needed in the long struggle ahead on the east side of the County to make up for decades of overlooking the residents and their need for Community College educational development. Even greater opportunity for the future would occur if the current outstanding President were elevated to chancellor status and the east and west sides of the County would each be operated as Administrative Colleges. However, until that happens, at least a change in the current administrative reporting structure would certainly be welcomed.

Robert Oliphant

The Blog welcomes a response to its opinion columns from any current administrator, current faculty member, or current Governing Board member of Yavapai Community College.

Categories : OPINIONS