Statement by Board member Sigafoos that “we’re dropping ten positions in the Verde Valley” apparently did not literally mean there was a reduction in faculty positions (Blog has provided links to video clips of April exchange in re positions and President Rhine’s statement on May 16)

Yavapai Community College president Dr. Lisa Rhine stated at the District Governing Board Tax and Budget hearing on May 16 that there will be no reduction in faculty positions on the Verde Valley Campus.  This was in response to the discussion at the April Governing Board meeting where Vice President Ewell presented a table and Board member Ray Sigafoos initially interpreted it as “dropping ten positions in the Verde Valley.”

After listening to the video clip, the Blog interpreted the brief discussion as involving a reduction of ten faculty positions on the Verde Campus.  Dr. Rhine says that interpretation is not correct.

Click here to view and hear Dr. Rhine’s statement at the May 16 Governing Board meeting.

Click here to view and hear the exchange at the April Governing Board meeting regarding lower head count and “positions” plus Mr. Sigafoos’ initial interpretation of the table presented by the C0llege to the Board.

You can see the possible confusion that was caused by the table, which is reproduced below. The table was presented by the College to the Governing Board at the April 2023 meeting and used by Vice President Clint Ewell.  Note the use of words such as “positions,” and phrases such as “lower heard count” and “ten positions” during the discussion on the video clip where the table was being used. Also note that the Verde Valley is  specifically identified on the table by red arrows put there by the Blog. 

Dr. Rhine did not offer any data at the May 16 meeting showing the current number of part-time and full-time faculty now on the Verde Campus.  The Blog has asked for that information.

Yavapai Community College Governing Board gives President Lisa Rhine authority to rework salary scheme adopted in October that included the “gainshare” theory

Governing Board discussing faculty and staff salary increases November 16

[BLOG EXCLUSIVE] The Yavapai Community College Governing Board agreed with a proposal put before it at the October 2021 Board meeting by the College Administration that distributed  a portion of the next faculty/staff  wage increase based in part on a concept that would have an assessment of whether groups obtained certain objectives. When the College faculty received word of the Board action, the Faculty Association, which represents all the faculty, filed a grievance challenging the group achievement portion of the recommendation — at least that is what it appears from the discussion at the November 16 meeting of the District Governing Board.

The October Governing Board salary recommendation for the 2022-23 academic year  included a faculty and staff  2% across the board increase, a 5% across the board increase in benefits, and an  additional 2% to be awarded on the  basis of various groups achieving certain performance targets. The Administration called the portion of the salary increase based on group performance “gainshare.” The details of  “gainshare”   were to be presented to the Board by the Administration at the Board’s February 2022 workshop.

The faculty grievance document  filed with Vice President Dr. Diane Ryan was not presented to the Governing Board at the November 16 meeting so the precise details  of the grievance are unknown.  However, Dr. Lisa Rhine made it clear to the Governing Board that  the faculty would not agree to the “gainshare” portion involved in making faculty salary increases.

It should be noted that in October Board Representative Mitch Padilla had already asked the College to present comparative data regarding the use of the gainshare model at the February 2022 Board workshop.  It should also be noted that a final decision on faculty increases is not made until May or June of 2022 when the Board finally votes on a full budget.

Dr. Rhine did not present an alternative faculty salary proposal to the Board at the November 16 meeting. 

The overall discussion on the issue was not very clear at the November 16 meeting and the audio of that meeting is challenging.  Some Board members (Chevalier and Kuknyo) appeared to favor continuing to include some portion of a faculty wage increase based on the experimental “gainshare” concept.  Representative Sigafoos indicated he wanted to wait and see a concrete  proposal before him on a future wage increase, if there were a suggested change from October,  before making a final decision.  Mitch Padilla had already indicated in October that he wanted more information about gainshare.  Chair McCasland seemed somewhat unclear on her position although she reiterated her strong support of  Dr. Rhine.

In the end, the Board voted to give Dr. Rhine full  authority  to rework the salary proposal and if necessary, bring  a new salary proposal to the Board for its consideration.  The Board also agreed to quickly meet to consider any future change to the salary recommendation made in October or to review a grievance should one reach the Board.

You may view a clip from the Community College’s stream of November 16 discussion regarding the salary increase  by clicking on this link.

You may view a clip from the October 2021  discussion regarding the salary increase and an explanation of how gainshare works by clicking on this link.