Insatiable appetite for revenue driving College to put a high school student per credit tax on cash strapped high schools in the County

By now, everyone in the County is aware that the current crop of Community College administrators has an insatiable appetite for more and more money to finance building projects in Prescott without interference from County residents. To that end, the unelected College administrators have repeatedly threatened at Board meetings throughout the year to lay a per credit tax on the already cash strapped high schools for students who are participating in the Dual Enrollment program. With its most recent letter to superintendents on this subject, the College began its political ploy to get its hands on more revenue by asking how much superintendents were willing to pay. Here on the left is a copy of the letter with misinformation about costs to the College in it.

Why does the Blog say the information going to the County superintendents is misleading? Because in May 2013 the information they provided the Governing Board is much different than the information they sent to the Superintendents. Here immediately below is the 2013 revenue slide: 

The costs for instruction that are already paid by the high schools include: Classroom space, heat/air conditioning, electricity, desks, technology, and teacher. In comparison, the expenses to the college are minimal and easily paid for by property taxes already collected from County taxpayers.

It is simply unfair to force high school districts to use taxpayer money to pay the College, which is already gobbling up taxpayer money for this project. The students don’t even set foot on a college campus. Most of the students are County residents and most of their parents already pay property taxes to support the College, which spends millions on buildings rather than supporting projects like the dual enrollment program.

Dual enrollment is skyrocketing in the County and all the current crop of College administrators see are dollar signs and a way to grab that revenue. Here are enrollment figures the College provided the Governing Board back in May, 2013 that support the Blog’s points:

Administration continues to indicate that dual enrollment students will be paying fees to College in the not too distant future

During the past year, especially during speeches in Sedona, Dr. Penelope Wills and her staff have boasted about the dual enrollment programs and their cost to County residents.  For example, during a radio broadcast on KAZM in the spring of 2014, Dr. Wills bragged about the dual enrollment program just installed at Red Rock High School:

“So over a hundred thousand dollars is just spent on classes with Red Rocks that we pay for and parents don’t. The taxpayer doesn’t. The student doesn’t.” 

While the College was not spending a hundred thousand dollars on Red Rocks High School, that part of the statement regarding no one is paying for dual education was mostly true.  In fact, the College pays a high school teacher who simultaneously teaches a class for the College and the high school at the high school, a small stipend. The stipend, of course, most likely comes from taxpayer property tax revenue.  The dual enrollment program is one of the most cost-effective programs in the College’s arsenal of learning.

However, those days of free dual education are nearing an end, as the Wills’ administration has apparently changed its mind about anything “free.”  That was the message it communicated to the District Governing Board at the May 19 work session. This may be the last year that dual enrollment classes are offered at high schools by the College in Yavapai County where there are no fees charged.