Joel Staadecker reminds Dr. Connie Harris that she reports to the “citizens,” not the Governing Board

At the March 7, 2017 Governing Board meeting held in the Verde Valley, Sedona resident and Verde Valley activist Joel Staadecker reminded newly appointed third District Governing Board representative Dr. Connie Harris that the College is “owned” by the citizens and that she reports to them, not the Governing Board. Dr. Harris, who has not lived in the Valley a year, was appointed in December to fill the seat of Al Filardo, who resigned in frustration with the Board’s treatment of the Valley. Her entire constituency is the Verde Valley.

You may view Mr. Staadecker’s short reminder to Dr. Harris below.

March 22, 2017 was her last day at Yavapai College

The sometimes controversial Yavapai Community College Economic Director, Alexandria Wright, has quit her job at Yavapai College. She begins work in August at the Ventura County Community College District in California.

The full announcement of her departure can be viewed in the on-line Verde Independent newspaper by clicking here.

As noted above, Ms. Wright has at times been controversial. For example, on September 15, 2015 she was removed from her seat for a variety of reasons on the Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG) Workforce Development Board by a four – one vote of Yavapai County Supervisors. Scott Farnsworth, the College’s Dean of sciences, health and Public Safety, was subsequently appointed to that seat.

You may view more about her problems with NACOG in 2015 in an article in which she responded to beng replaced  in the Verde Independent newspaper by clicking here.

If you disagree with a Board vote, too bad – – keep your mouth shut afterwards

Reporter Zachary Jernigan wrote in the Cottonwood Journal Extra of March 15, 2017 that “President Wills [is] having trouble with board members speaking to the press.” Mr. Jernigan was referring to the March 7, 2017 board meeting during which Wills complained that it took her and her staff an inordinate amount of effort to respond to questions if a Board member spoke to the media.

There was no doubt that the comments were aimed directly at Second District representative Deb McCasland. This was confirmed by Mr. Jernigan when he interviewed McCasland following the meeting. She told him: “I am sure that [statement] was in reference to me.”

Since joining the Governing Board, McCasland has been leading the fight for more equitable treatment by the College in the Verde Valley. For the past two years she was joined in that effort by former Governing Board member Mr. Al Filardo. During that time, while making it clear that she was not speaking for the governing board, McCasland often shared crucial information with the citizens of the Valley about the direction the College was taking in the County.

President Wills wants any dialogue between the Verde Valley’s elected representatives on the Board and the citizens of the Valley stopped. The effort to restrict information coming from the elective representatives was the major topic during the Board retreat February 13, 2017. As Wills indicated during her brief outburst at the March 7 meeting, she wants nothing to be shared outside a Board meeting with the public other than what she or current Governing Board spokesperson Ray Sigafoos feeds them.

Sigafoos is the leader of the West County voting bloc that controls Governing Board decisions and is a close ally of Wills. The voting bloc has rejected a long list of recommendations coming from the Verde Valley over the past three years. Sigafoos knows little about the Verde Valley and certainly would not provide the kind of crucial information that McCasland has been sharing with Verde Valley citizens and public meetings and in the press.

The constant pressure coming from Wills and the West County voting bloc to halt McCasland from speaking to her constituents may have had an indirect impact on the third District representative Connie Harris. She seems to buy into the idea that she is not to share information with her constituents and the press in the third District. Her District runs from Jerome to Sedona and includes Cottonwood, Clarkdale, and the Verde villages. Harris, in her third month as a replacement for Filardo, has yet to utter a single sentence in support of a Verde Valley project.

Overall, the effort to suppress the First Amendment right of an elected representative to fully inform his or her constituency is under a full-court attack from the West County voting bloc and Wills. You may view the one-minute statement at the March 7 meeting by Wills below.

20 Page pdf pamphlet can be obtained here

The 20 page pamphlet reviewing the decisions by the College and the Governing Board in 2016 that may have affected the Verde Valley can be downloaded by clicking here.  2016 IN REVIEW REVISED BOOKLET JAN 1 2017

Sedona resident Jessica Williamson speaks to Governing Board about their voting bloc

Sedona resident and former member of the Sedona City Council Jessica Williamson encouraged the District Governing Board to reflect on how the West County voting vote is treating the Verde Valley — the minority on the Board.  Her theme, “The Tyranny of the majority.”  Her short speech to the Governing Board is reproduced below.

Blog Editor outlines a few of the decisions that most affected the Verde Valley in 2016

In the following three-minute video presentation, the editor of this Blog outlined some of the decisions made by the District Governing Board that adversely impacted the Verde Valley in 2016.  You may download the 20 page pamphlet in pdf that reviews 2016 here.2016 IN REVIEW REVISED BOOKLET JAN 1 2017

Claims there is a lack of respect, trust and open communication

Board representative Deb McCasland made several observations about how poorly the district governing board was functioning at the January 10, 2016 meeting. Her written comments were made in response to various monitoring questions put to board members prior to the meeting and are contained in the agenda that is on the district website.

 The following is some of what Ms. McCasland wrote:

 “We [the board members] are fragmented and inefficient. The resignation of two District 3 Board members in two years is a sad example of how disjointed we have become.”

 “. . . I do not experience open communications, trust, nor respect on the Board with reference to Dr. Wills. There should be more in depth communications with broader and specific financial data on budget matters. There should be no surprises nor unanswered questions, especially with reference to Capital Improvement projects.”

 “We need to dump the Carver Model and the Board needs to resume the legal directives of Board members. Board driven strategic plan that includes specific and measurable goals, thorough budget reports, Board approval of administrative hires, Board approval for expenditures above a set limit, etc.”

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On Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Deb McCasland and Connie Harris were sworn in as members of the Yavapai College District Governing Board by Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter. McCasland begins her second term as the board representative while Harris is new. In fact, Harris has lived less than a year in the Verde Valley.

The West County voting block maintained administrative control of the board by electing Ray Sigafoos as board chair and Steve Irwin as Secretary. Sigafoos was nominated by West County representative Pat McCarver as was Irwin. Two years ago Sigafoos nominated McCarver. These positions ensure the West County will control the agenda for the next two years.

When interviewed by a newspaper reporter about her reappointment, McCasland said. “I hope in the budget process, especially the capital improvement fund items, maybe spread some money to the Verde campus, especially help for JTED and reaching our outlying students and remote education centers, those are my two big projects I’d like to see happen.”

You may find the newspaper article by clicking here.

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– PENELOPE WILLS MUST GO —

Newly elected District 3 County  Supervisor Randy Garrison sharply criticized Yavapai College president Penelope Wills in an article in the Cottonwood Journal Extra, dated January 4, 2017.  He observed that her tenure has been marked by declining enrollment and near-obsession with building unneeded facilities in Prescott. In the article written by Zachary Jernigan, Garrison added: “I know what [the College] can do when it works. … I know it can do better.”

Garrison also told the reporter that in order for the College to address the educational needs of the Verde Valley it needs new leadership beginning with a new president. Garrison said: “Somebody has to step up and say something.”

Garrison was elected in a landslide at the November election. During his campaign, he repeatedly criticized Yavapai College’s performance in the Verde Valley. As pointed out in the article, although Yavapai College is a government body independent of Yavapai County, the County and Yavapai College often work together on projects.

The year 2016 saw the County Community Empire on the West side of the County strike back

OVERVIEW

The year 2016 was marked by a full scale political assault on the Verde Valley by those in control of the County Community College with its $80 million dollar plus budget. The assault was led by Penelope Wills who apparently prefers autocratic control of the College rather than an open democratic fully accountable institution. Wills was supported in her efforts by the three-member West County voting bloc whose political interests are most likely promoted by ensuring that detailed information about the College’s operations are kept as much as possible from the prying eyes of the public.

Wills and the voting bloc worked hand in glove to ensure continued multimillion dollar spending on the Prescott Campus and at the Career and Technical Education Center at the Prescott airport. They also sent millions of dollars to the Prescott Valley Campus to begin building the Allied Health Center in response to pressure coming from the Prescott Valley political establishment.
Among this year’s casualties in the Verde Valley were Verde Valley representative Al Filardo, who resigned in December, 2016 and the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee. The Verde Valley Advisory Committee was essentially dismantled at a September Board retreat. The vote on dismantling the Committee occurred at what turned out to be basically a secret meeting. When the vote was taken, no members of the press were present, no video cameras were running to record the debate on the issue, and the published agenda masked the fact that the issue of the future of the Advisory Committee was to be discussed. There were no citizens in the audience when the final vote was taken.

In another political move, and no doubt out of fear of the Sedona political establishment, President Wills decided to spend from 2 to 3 million dollars on the Sedona Center. Sedona interests present the greatest threat to autocractic control of the College by Wills.
The following is a summary of the College’s 2016 record as the Prescott based educational Empire attacked the Verde Valley.

GOVERNING BOARD VOTING BLOC AND ADMINISTRATIVE ARROGANCE FORCES FILARDO FROM GOVERNING BOARD

Arrogance on the part of the three-member West Valley Governing Board voting bloc essentially forced third District Board representative Al Filardo to resign his seat after spending two frustrating years as the Verde Valley representative and fighting for his constituents. Repeatedly, over those two years, Filardo found himself and representative Deb McCasland in the minority where their views were consistently ignored. Filardo resigned saying a majority on the Governing Board made decisions that did not align with either his guiding principles or his sense of what is right for the College. The Second District Representative, Deb McCasland, was astonished at the reaction of the Governing Board members and president Penelope Wills when Filardo made his announcement. She said: “[I]t was such a cold, uncaring, silent response from the three board members and Dr. Wills.” Filardo followed Bob Oliphant who resigned in January, 2014 over disgust with how the Governing Board treated the citizens of the Verde Valley.

When he resigned, Filardo pointed out the fact that the Board had unanimously voted to continue the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee at its September 2015 meeting. However, the Board just one year later during an almost secret retreat suspended the Advisory Committee. The suspension effectively put an end to the hard work of the seven-member Committee. Filardo stated: “One may wonder what has happened internally over the last year to cause this abrupt turnaround.”

Filardo listed four Board decisions that caused his resignation: (1) The Board made significant fiscal commitments without the required comprehensive strategic planning document before it. (2) The Board failed to authorize research to inform important, key decisions that it made. (3) The Board overlooked problems experienced by the community college that were masked by the Carver policy governance process used by the Board. (4) The decision to suspend the Verde Valley Advisory Committee before its work had been completed.

Former VVBAC Vice Chairman Bill Regner told the Board that it’s almost secret vote during the retreat disrespected Filardo and the people who have supported him. See Verde Independent newspaper, November 3, 2016. http://www.verdenews.com/news/2016/nov/03/verde-valley-reacts-filardo-resignation-college-bo/.  Click here.

ARROGANCE DRIVES WEST COUNTY BOARD AND PRESIDENT WILLS TO SUSPEND WORK OF VERDE VALLEY BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

The three-member West County voting bloc on the Yavapai College District Governing Board on Monday, September 12, 2016, with the approval of president Wills, essentially dismantled the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee.
The decision by the Governing Board was made with no public present in the late afternoon, and the usual television cameras were not present to record the Board discussion. Worse, the agenda for the retreat made it appear that the only business to be conducted during the retreat involved changing language in the rules and regulations used to conduct board meetings.
The agenda for the retreat had been carefully worded in such a way as to mask the issue of continuing the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee.

There is little doubt that the vote came because the West County majority feared the public disclosures being made by the Committee. Once known by the public, the disclosures could have had the effect of upsetting their total control of revenue and building projects. This control was used to build a West County community college Empire over the past decade to the detriment of the East County citizens.

ARROGANCE ALLOWS GOVERNING BOARD MAJORITY TO IGNORE INTENT OF OPEN MEETING LAW

In an editorial in the Verde independent newspaper, the editor, Dan Engler, made the following remarks regarding the conduct of the Governing Board when by a 3-2 vote it essentially dismantled the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee.

[The] “college board members were wrong in dismantling the VVBAC, and probably even more wrong in the way they went about it. It bears emphasis that when VVBAC members were pushing for a separate Verde Valley administrative college district under the agenda heading “Ownership Linkage,” college President Penny Wills agreed with this newspaper that the committee was playing fast and loose with the state’s Open Meeting Law. “It’s supposed to be clear enough so people will know what they are going to be discussing,” Wills said at the time.

“Guess what? At their Monday retreat, college board members voted 3-2 to suspend the VVBAC under the very same agenda item: “Ownership linkage.” Was that “clear enough so people will know what they are going to be discussing,” to use Wills’ words. Board member Deb McCasland claimed she was blind-sided when her colleagues moved forward on suspending VVBAC. The agenda did not make it clear that such action was being considered.”

Mr. Engler’s editorial can be found by clicking on the following link. http://www.verdenews.com/news/2016/sep/15/commentary-dissolution-of-college-advisory-commit/.

COLLEGE FAILS TO HIRE INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT TO ASSESS ADMINISTRATIVE COLLEGE POTENTIAL

At its March 1, 2016 Governing Board meeting, the Board with the enthusiastic approval of president Wills, in a 3-2 vote refused to hire an independent expert to assess the efficacy of an administrative college or other administrative model to operate postsecondary education in the Verde Valley. The assault on the issue was led by Penelope Wills with the strong vocal support of the three-member West County voting bloc. Among other silly arguments made by the voting bloc, was that the College could not afford a $50,000 expenditure from its $82 million annual budget.

COLLEGE FAILS TO CURB BUILDING SPREE; USES TUITION INCREASE TO FUND PROJECTS

By a 3 to 2 vote (Verde Valley representatives opposing), the Governing Board increased student tuition at its March meeting by about 5%. The increase was apparently needed to support the ongoing expenditure of millions of dollars in building projects on the Prescott campus and at the Career and Technical Education Center at the Prescott airport.

COLLEGE FAILS TO LISTEN TO SEDONA CITIZENS; WASTES $1.7 MILLION

Sedona residents told the Governing Board November 1 that they were wasting about $1.7 million by enclosing the outside center area of the Sedona Center. Despite the plea from the citizens, the College continued with its plans to waste the $1.7 million on the project.

COLLEGE FAILS TO DEAL WITH DECLINING ENROLLMENT

The College enrollment as measured by actual head count of students fell to an all-time low in 2016. The total head count has now fallen by more than 6,000 students. According to the College, the total head count in 2006/07 was 16,312. By 2015/16, it had fallen to 10,245 students. Meanwhile, the Governing Board and the College administration continues to do little but ring their same document hands at the decline.

COLLEGE MAKES POOR SHOWING IN WALLETHUB RATING

According to a national rating made by Wallethub, Yavapai College rates 716 from the top among community colleges.

COLLEGE FAILS TO REACH AGREEMENT ON $60 MILLION LAWSUIT

The College failed to settle the lawsuit brought by the former director of its aviation program, Daniel Hamilton. In fact, the College lost its efforts via a summary judgment motion to have the lawsuit dismissed in Federal District Court. The matter is headed for a jury trial.

COLLEGE FAILS TO STOP REVENUE DECLINE: TUITION REVENUE PLUMMETS BY $1 MILLION

In May, 2016 the College announced that it is going to lose about $1 million in tuition revenue in the 2016/17 academic year. Loss, according to Penelope Wills, was a result of its inability to comply with VA requirements in its aviation program and a declining enrollment.

PRESCOTT CAMPUS ENROLLMENT IN A TAILSPIN

Data reported by the College indicates that from the 2009/10 academic year the FTSE enrollment figure has fallen from 2,396 to 1,252.7 on the Prescott campus. This drop represents the most significant dramatic decline in enrollment in the District. The Wills administration seems to show little concern about the decline.

FOUNDATION REFUSES CONTRIBUTION TO SOUTHWEST WINE PROGRAM

Although no official explanation has been offered by the Yavapai College Foundation, it refused to provide $116,000 in funding to support the Southwest wine program this year. The revenue had been promised in the College budget. It has been suggested that the Foundation’s decision not to make the donation is because of a failure on the part of the folks in the Verde Valley to support the program with sufficient donations in 2015/16. Meanwhile, the Foundation anticipates donating $450,000 to a new soccer field on the Prescott campus over the next four years.

COLLEGE SQUEEZES MONEY FROM HIGH SCHOOLS IN DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM

In January, 2016 the Governing Board West County Majority approved a request by Penelope Wills to assess a $10 fee for every Yavapai college credit course taught at a high school by a high school teacher in the County. Wills offered no explanation for a serious need for the revenue other than the College was spending funds to administer it from County taxpayer revenue.

In an editorial in the Sedona Red Rock newspaper the managing editor said that this was another effort by the College to squeeze every dime from the Verde Valley while giving little or nothing in return. The Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee and both representatives of the Verde Valley opposed the imposition of the fee. All of the superintendents in the Verde Valley also opposed imposition of a fee. Among other concerns they expressed was that a fee would adversely affect poor families and students in the County.

NO CAPITAL REVENUE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR VERDE VALLEY CTEC

In April Penelope Wills told the Clarksdale town Council that she was unwilling to commit any capital money to a Verde Valley Career and Technical Educational program in the Verde Valley. She stated that from her perspective if the Verde Valley Career and Technical Education program intended to build a facility in the Verde Valley, it should do so via a general obligation bond approved by voters. Wills has overseen the $15-$20 million capital outlay plant and equipment for the state-of-the-art CTEC facility at the Prescott airport. She has also moved the high school Mountain Institute CTEC administrative offices into the College facilities at the Prescott airport. There was no consideration given to moving the Verde Valley high school CTEC program into any College facilities anywhere.

 STATE LEGISLATORS SPREAD MISINFORMATION

An editorial published in the Verde Independent newspaper on November 1, 2016 authored by District 6 representatives Bob Thorpe and Brenda Barton contained false and misleading information about Yavapai College’s financial commitment to the Verde Valley. Some suspected that the editorial was intended as a free political advertising opportunity. Others surmised the misleading information used by the representatives came from someone close to the Community College administration. On November 6, 2016 in a letter to the Verde Independent, Mr. Paul Chevalier, who headed the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee for two years, pointed out the gross inaccuracies in the representatives’ editorial.

PERRY CAN’T ESCAPE VERDE VALLEY

On March 6, 2016 three finalists for the position of Vice President of instruction and student development were announced. Among those finalist was Dr. James Perey. Perey no doubt wanted out of the Verde Valley in the worst way. He had been the executive Dean of the Verde Valley Campus and Sedona Center since 2012 and was continually on the hot seat having to explain Wills’ adverse decisions regarding the Valley. (He also continues to live with his wife and family in Chino Valley and drives many miles each day to the Verde Campus or the Sedona Center.) Despite his loyalty to Wills, he was not selected for the promotion. Instead, Dr. Ron Liss, from outside Arizona, was chosen. Liss succeeds Stuart Blacklaw, Ph.D., who left in July 2015 to become provost at the Community College of Allegheny County in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Scott Farnsworth, who has served as VP of Instruction and Student Development since July, returned to his previous post as Dean of Sciences, Health and Public Safety when Liss assumed his new position on June 1.

MOST EXPERIENCED, QUALIFIED APPLICANT NOT APPOINTED AS VERDE VALLEY REPRESENTATIVE TO FILL AL FILARDO’S SEAT ON GOVERNING BOARD

The Yavapai County education superintendent, Tim Carter, announced on Nov. 29 that five residents of Yavapai College District 3 – which includes the communities of Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Jerome, Sedona, and the Village of Oak Creek – had applied for the Governing Board seat left vacant by Al Filardo, for a term ending on Dec. 31, 2018. Those candidates were: Cottonwood resident Hal Alford, Jerome resident Mary Beth Barr, Village of Oak Creek resident Dr. Connie Harris and Sedona residents Jessica Williamson and Dr. Thomas Yager. Carter also used an advisory committee of five individuals made up of a Yavapai College student and faculty member, as well as a business person, taxpayer and community member to help with the selection. Finally, and most importantly, Carter met individually with the college administration (Wills and others), as well as the four remaining District Governing Board members.

In the opinion of this Blog, the most qualified person, Jessica Williamson, was not appointed. A former member of the Sedona city Council, Williamson possessed intimate knowledge of the operations of the College and the problems the College and the three-member Governing Board have with the Valley. Williamson attended almost all of the meetings of the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee over a two-year period and had spoken on behalf of the Verde Valley before the Governing Board on various occasions. Williamson also had widespread citizen report in the Verde Valley and from the Sedona Mayor. No doubt, her knowledge, her relationship to the mayor, widespread citizen support, and speeches to the Governing Board spelled her downfall. Instead, a political novice who had played no role and apparently attended no meetings of the college governing board over the past three years, Dr. Connie Harris, was selected at the end of December, 2016 as the Verde Valley representative by Mr. Carter. The selection raises serious questions about whether a political novice like Dr. Harris will stand any chance of representing the Verde Valley interests against the entrenched experienced West County voting bloc that controls the Yavapai College District Governing Board. Some in the Verde Valley saw the appointment as a huge win for Wills and the West County controlling majority voting block on the Governing Board. Others have urged Verde Valley citizens to wait and see whether Dr. Harris has the courage needed to represent the Valley and stand against the enormous political forces that will be unleashed against her by the West County representatives and Penelope Wills.

DR. BARB WAAK SELECTED INTERIM ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR VERDE VALLEY UNTIL SPRING 2017; WAS NUMBER 2 IN SELECTION PROCESS LAST TIME; APPEARED IGNORED AFTER APPOINTMENT

James Perey’s office announced July 28 that Dr. Barb Waak had accepted the interim position of Associate Dean for the Verde Valley Campus. Dr. Waak began her duties on Monday, August 1st, 2016. It was a one semester appointment during which the College began a nationwide search for a permanent Associate Dean. Of interest is the fact that Dr. Waak was a finalist in the College’s national search a year ago for this position. Waak was second to Dr. Kelly Trainer in the selection process, her predecessor in this position.

Those calling for a Verde Valley resident to be appointed to a top leadership role at Yavapai College Verde Valley Campus had reason to rejoice with Waak’s temporary appointment.

Waak is a 22-year veteran of teaching, most of it at Yavapai College, where she graduated with an associate degree in 1978 before moving on to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at Northern Arizona University and a Ph.D. in higher education administration at Capella University. The Verde Valley has been her home for over two decades:
On August 1, Barb Waak became interim Associate Dean of the institution. As far as the author can determine, she was not formally introduced the Governing Board after her temporary appointment. This is in sharp contrast how other temporary executive appointments have been treated such as interim Vice President Scott Farnsworth.

Given Dr. Waak’ experience and rating in the last selection process for this position, it seemed a waste of money to announce a new search for the position. Nevertheless, the College proceeded to announce a national search for the position was underway and would be concluded sometime in 2017

SOME PROGRESS

On the more positive side of the ledger, the Verde Valley Campus showed a slight increase in enrollment, a handful of new programs were added to the Verde Valley Campus curriculum, and plans were begun to renovate the Sedona Center for a culinary school. Other plans were made being made to work with the Sedona Red Rock high school in developing a performing arts program. The greatest success in the Verde Valley came about with the College For Kids summer project. The College For Kids project was successful because of the intimate involvement and hard work of Verde Valley school superintendents. There was also a serious effort to bring some concerts to Camp Verde, Sedona, and the Verde Campus by Dean Ralston.