Board Chair says it is a “really good marketing tool for us.”
But contains little to nothing about faculty or programs: Is it using taxpayer money for political purposes?
Commentary
The Community College claims it is losing enrollment and desperately needs to increase student tuition while slapping a $10 per credit student fee to be paid by taxpayers for some community college classes now being taught in high schools. It says it will lose around $2 million in the coming year. Despite this claimed desperate need, it spent thousands of dollars on staff time and on printing costs, all paid by taxpayer dollars, to produce a self-congratulatory 16 page glossy catalog. (Like Macey’s) It looks little more than like a very, very expensive political handout.
This is the second time the Administration has put together such a hand-out. The first was in 2014 when I believe it was created to help two board members in contested elections. It failed. The present catalog is designed to coax Board members to find shelter under the wing of the administration via photos and self-congratulatory rhetoric. It’s a political tool.
The claim it can be using it for marketing the college; if so, it misses that mark by a mile. There are only smatterings that would interest a prospective student or the student’s family.
Astonishingly, there is almost nothing in detail in the catalog about faculty, faculty accomplishments, and a commitment “excellence” (if there is any such commitment). And no faculty photos per se. From my perspective, it is a pithy piece of self-congratulatory mush.
There is a full-pager letter to the “College owners” signed by the Chair. I doubt anyone considering enrolling as a student would bother to look at it. (Who is this thing being marketed to? To residents so they will vote for Board members at the next election?)
A full page is devoted to the Governing Board photos and resumes. A student considering enrolling at the College would find this page of no interest. Moreover, Board member photos dominate the report with the Chair’s various photos, who most see as the hand-maiden of the administration, most prominent.
There’s a full page devoted to “Board ends,” which would be foreign to most prospective students and their families. The height ridiculousness is a full-page devoted to trying to explain “Policy Governance,” with an appropriate copyright notice to John Carver attached to it. Just incredible!
The College administration no doubt believes that this document will help it cement relationship with Governing Board members. Well, maybe it will. But for taxpayers, it is a an example of how the current administration simply wastes scarce financial resources while crying out for more.
The catalog can be found by clicking here.
A much shorter catalog, that was also produced, can be found by clicking here.
The self-congratulatory statements made by the Board Chair about the material can be seen by clicking here.
“Millions of badly needed education dollars are being poured into a professional tennis complex, an 1,105-seat dinner theatre –the only one of its kind in the nation – and other building projects on the Prescott campus,” he opined. 
The article made the following points:
Under the Carver model of governance adopted by the Governing Board, Wills is obligated to keep the Governing Board members well informed. McCasland expressed obvious concern that Wills’ was not meeting that obligation. McCasland wrote that “information that affects the Board should be shared with all the Board members as it occurs, not just select individuals.” She wrote that “open communication is very important to provide trust and respect, Finding out about college administrative matters in the press and not first from the President is not effective communication.” 
