Contact Silvia Allen

Senate Bill 1390, which would extend Prop 301. is scheduled to be heard by the Arizona Senate Education Committee this Thursday, March 22nd.   Losing this funding which was approved by a significant majority of the Arizona voters in 2000 will have a significant impact on the quality of education in our state. See the attached infographic to learn more about proposition 301.  Please contact Sylvia Allen our LD 6 Senator and chairman of the Senate Education committee and urge her to vote yes on Senate Bill 1390.

To keep you better informed the Blog authored over 200 stories about Yavapai Community College in 2017

The following is a list of only a few  of the more important stories posted on the Blog in 2017.  During the year, the Blog has posted over 200 stories about Yavapai Community College.  Areas of similar general interest have been grouped together.

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GOVERNING BOARD SETS NO SPECIFIC GOALS FOR PRESIDENT WILLS FOR 2018.

WILLS HIGHEST PAID COUNTY OFFICIAL: $277,811 ANNUALLY.

WHY THE ODD CLOAK OF SECRECY OVER WILLS’ TRAVEL? No formal explanation of absence from office March 21 to April 11.

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“MANSPLAINING” DIRECTED AT MCCASLAND CONTINUES DESPITE APOLOGY; LAWYER INTERVENES.

GOVERNING BOARD INSENSITIVE TO MCCASLAND HEARING DISABILITY REQUEST THAT WAS MADE AT PRIOR BOARD MEETING.

MCCASLAND WANTS VERDE VALLEY TO HAVE A YAVAPAI COLLEGE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CENTER TO MATCH PRESCOTT FACILITY.

Mc CASLAND LISTENS TO TAXPAYERS; REMAINDER OF BOARD LISTENS TO WILLS.

WILLS, MC CARVER, SIGAFOOS FIGHT CONSULTANT SUGGESTIONS FOR CLARITY IN BOARD POLICY PROVISIONS. McCasland argues for greater detail to promote citizen awareness.

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COLLEGE SPENDS $17 MILLION DURING 2016-17  FISCAL YEAR ON CAPITAL PROJECTS. Total expenditures 148.9% of budget with overrun due to Prescott Valley building expansion and Sedona Center remodel.

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YAVAPAI-APACHE NATION AND COLLEGE MAY EXPLORE HOSPITALITY TRAINING AT NATION’S NEW HOTEL IN CAMP VERDE.

GOVERNING BOARD IGNORES YAVAPAI-APACHE NATION REQUEST FOR CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE & EXCHANGE OF IDEAS.

YAVAPAI-APACHE NATION EXPLORING POSSIBLE NEW JUNIOR COLLEGE IN THE VERDE VALLEY.

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PEREY TELLS SEDONA COUNCIL BUILDING “L” ON VERDE CAMPUS TO BE RENOVATED AGAIN FOR NURSING/ RELATED ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS.

VERDE CAMPUS WINE CENTER STUDENTS CAPTURE JEFFERSON CUP AWARD.

COLLEGE HAS NO NEW INFORMATION ON MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT PENDING IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT REGARDING THE FIRING OF THE AVIATION DIRECTOR.

WAS HARRIS LEGALLY APPOINTED TO GOVERNING BOARD INTERIM TERM? WHERE DID REVISED RESIDENCY CRITERIA COME FROM?

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BOARD CHAIR APPEARS IRRITATED AT THOUGHT OF IDENTIFYING COLLEGE AS “YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE”

GOVERNING BOARD ELIMINATES MONTHLY MEETINGS IN JUNE, JULY, AUGUST–TRAVEL DISTANCE TOO MUCH.

GOVERNING BOARD BEHAVIORS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT.

GOVERNING BOARD CONTINUES TO KEEP CHINO VALLEY IN THE DARK ON RACEWAY AS FIRST HALF OF 2017 NEARS AN END.

WILLS AND SIGAFOOS UNDERGO A SUDDEN EPIPHANY WHEN IT COMES TO CONCERN FOR THE UNDERSERVED STUDENT POPULATION.

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COCONINO COLLEGE DOWN BY 12%; LOSS OF NAU RESIDENCE HALLS & REDUCED EMPHASIS ON VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS BLAMED.

ENROLLMENT SLIGHTLY UP IN 2017 FALL SEMESTER. Headcount up by 1.6% over last fall and total credit hours up by .7%.

DUEL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM EXPERIENCES FIRST DECLINE IN TEN YEARS.

ARE ANNUAL TUITION INCREASES AT YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONSTITUTIONAL? Are courses as “nearly as free as possible?”

“LEAD” FREE BRIDGE PROGRAM TO CONTINUE BUT ENROLLMENT DOESN’T MAX OUT.” WHY?

COLLEGE HAS A STUNNING 37.85% OF STUDENTS NOW TAKING ALL OR SOME ONLINE COURSES.

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HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR CTE IN THE VALLEY: SIGAFOOS READY TO SUPPORT AT LEAST $5 MILLION FOR CENTRALIZED CTE FACILITY FOR EAST COUNTY.

BASED ON COUNTY-WIDE SUMMER SURVEY STAFF RECOMMENDS GOVERNING BOARD EXPLORE CTE IN VERDE VALLEY.

BOARD APPROVES IGA BETWEEN COLLEGE AND VALLEY ACADEMY FOR CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

HOW THE COLLEGE KILLED OFF CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE VERDE VALLEY. What happened to the 2004 Northern Arizona Regional Skills program that was to provide CTE from the facility on the Verde Campus?

EDUCATIONAL ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION AGAINST VERDE VALLEY ILLUSTRATED IN THE COLLEGE AND DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD APPROACH TO CENTRALIZED CTE FACILITIES.

MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE JTED HEALTH PROGRAMS MOVED TO YC PRESCOTT VALLEY CENTER.

MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE PARTNER ON 75 COURSES FOR FALL 2017.

WEST COUNTY JTED DISTRICT OFFICE (Mountain Institute) NOW LOCATED AT YAVAPAI COLLEGE CTEC.

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SCAMMERS MAKING FAKE YAVAPAI COLLEGE CALLS.

INFLUENTIAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION ADDS THREE NEW MEMBERS TO BOARD. All from West County; East County has only 2 seats on 27 member Board.

WEST COUNTY GOVERNING BOARD VOTING BLOC GREATEST OBSTACLE TO PROGRESS IN THE VERDE VALLEY.

YAVAPAI COLLEGE DID NOT APPLY TO ASPEN INSTITUTE COLLEGE EXCELLENCE PROGRAM.

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SEDONA CENTER CULINARY HAS FORMAL NAME; SEEKS REGIONAL IDENTITY. Will effort fail like Film School because of lack of affordable student housing in the Verde Valley?

CULINARY COURSES ALREADY FULL AT SEDONA CENTER.

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RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY TUESDAY OCTOBER 24 CELEBRATING $4 MILLION PLUS RENOVATION/NEW CONSTRUCTION AT ALLIED HEALTH CENTER IN PRESCOTT VALLEY.

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PRESCOTT CAMPUS AMPHITHEATER GOING UP.

PRESCOTT CAMPUS RENOVATION/NEW CONSTRUCTION CHARGING AHEAD.

PRESCOTT TRAIL SYSTEM COMPLETE; VERDE EFFORT OF 25 YEARS A FAILURE.

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FREE SOCCER CLINICS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS AGES 5-16 HELD ONLY ON WEST SIDE OF COUNTY.

WHY ARE ATHLETIC SUMMER CAMPS/CLINICS ONLY ON WEST SIDE OF COUNTY?

WOW! 75% OF INSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS GOING TO ATHLETES,

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DECADES OF UNEQUAL DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC COURSES COUNTY-WIDE CONTINUES IN 2017.

Apologizes if anything he said at October meeting was construed as an attack

Yavapai Community College District Governing Board Chair Ray Sigafoos apologized at the November Board meeting for what Deb McCasland alleged was a verbal attack on her at the October meeting.  Sigafoos said that “sometimes I’m not very diplomatic and I apologize if that was taken in the wrong way.”

Ray Sigafoos

He also said that “I don’t remember the discussion at all. I’m sorry.”  McCasland reminded him that “It was lengthy—look at the video.”

Representative Pat McCarver commented that sometimes “we’re responding to questions that aren’t being asked. That there is a misunderstanding as to what the comment is.”

The approximate three minute video of the discussion and apology follows below. You may also view a video of the entire meeting by clicking here and then clicking on “Meeting Videos.”

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Responding to Sigafoos’ persistent questioning of her during the October Board meeting, Representative McCasland said:  “I feel a lot of intimidation from you.”

“Mansplaining is a blend of the word man and the informal form splaining of the verb explaining and means “to explain something to someone, characteristically by a man to woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing”.  Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansplaining.

For some who attended the October 24 Yavapai Community College District Governing Board  meeting, the exchanges between Chair Ray Sigafoos and Representative Deb McCasland created an atmosphere that was less than pleasant.  The exchanges took place over more than an hour.  Ms. McCasland eventually told Sigafoos that she “felt a lot of intimidation” from him. 

The Blog believes that the treatment of McCasland by Sigafoos fits the classic definition of “mansplaining.”

At one point during the exchanges, a member of the audience, Ms. Ruth Wicks, got up and left the meeting room.   When interviewed, she told the Blog that she could no longer stomach what she perceived as the unfair attack being waged by Sigafoos on Ms. McCasland.

McCasland, who is perceived by the Blog as having been a target for Sigafoos’ efforts at intimidation since she was elected, stated to the Blog she was not fazed by the fieriness of Sigafoos’  effort to demean or embarrass her.

Below is a four-minute clip (out of more than an hour of back and forth exchanges) that  exemplifies what the Blog believes is a classic example of mansplaining.  Review it and see if you don’t agree.  You may also view the entire Governing Board meeting and all of the exchanges on Video by clicking here and going to the College Governing Board website.

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Keeps the public and Board members in the dark

Commentary

District Governing Board Chair Ray Sigafoos keeps iron-fisted control over the agenda for Governing Board meetings. In doing so, it is the opinion of the Blog that he is preventing the public and the other members of the Governing Board from receiving important information that may affect the public pocketbook and the direction of the College.

Documents obtained by the Blog through public information requests and other sources show the nature and extent of his control.

For example, earlier this year the Chino Valley Town Council asked that it be placed on the College agenda. The Town wanted to share information with the Governing Board about the potential implications to the College should a Speedway be constructed near the College’s Chino Valley Center.  Because of the possible location of the Speedway and a 2003 agreement, the District Governing Board held veto power over the project.

Without first discussing the request with the Governing Board at a public hearing before making a decision, Sifoos decided on his own that placing the matter on the College agenda was a bad idea. He drafted and signed a letter stating that “we will not be able to accommodate your request.” The “we” he referred to were the other members of the District Governing Board who knew nothing of the request or his letter. Moreover, they had not authorized such a letter be sent.

It was only after the Chino Valley Town Council received the letter denying their request that Sigafoos casually disclosed to other member of the Board his decision. There never was a vote on this issue.  

There are other examples.  A number of written requests for items to be placed on the College agenda from at least one member of the Board have been refused by Sigafoos. For example, a request that the Board discuss as an agenda item whether information contained in a letter from the College to a member of the public was leadked from a confidential Board meeting was rejected by Sigafoos.  He replied that “this is not a Board issue and Dr. Wills may have more information if needed.”

When a Board member asked to be allowed to “submit a list of [scholarship] questions I would like to be answered” and be placed on the Agenda, Sigafoos replied:  “operational issue and can be discussed in applicable monitoring reports.”   A similar request that “the total financial picture for the Community Events and Public service” be an agenda item was met by Sigafoos with the same response: “operational issue and can be discussed in applicable monitoring reports.”

Philosopher Alan Bloom said: “Education is the movement from darkness to light.” The Blog says, “Open government is vital in a democracy. All too often, the doors to government are closed.” This is especially true when one person controls an agenda. 

ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS REVERSES LOWER COURT DECISION IN CASE INVOLVING MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

In a case involving Maricopa Community College, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACAs) are not eligible for lower in-state tuition because they are undocumented students. DACA students were brought to the United States by their parents when the students were minors.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Arthur Anderson had ruled in May 2015 that  Arizona law did not bar benefits to immigrants lawfully in the country.  You may read the ruling from the Appeals Court by clicking here.

As a result of the ruling, student tuition for DACA students could more than double at community colleges and state universities in Arizona. DACA is known as the protection given Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals from deportation by former President Obama. The Arizona Republic newspaper reported that about 240 current DACA students at the state’s universities and a little more than 2,000 DACA students in Maricopa Community Colleges are receiving lower, in-state tuition rates.  You may read the full Arizona Republic article by clicking here.  

The Arizona Republic reported that the in-state rate for undergraduate students at ASU is $10,640 this year compared with $26,470 for non-resident students. At Maricopa Community Colleges, the in-state rate is $86 per credit hour vs. $241 for non-residents. Maricopa Community Colleges has 2,056 DACA students, according to Matthew Hasson, a college spokesman who was interviewed by the Arizona Republic.

The ruling is expected to be appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court and then, regardless of who wins at that level, to the United States Supreme Court.

Representative  Bob Thorpe would require  students who want to vote to do so only by signing up to get an early ballot from where they were living before they became students

If Flagstaff legislator Bob Thorpe has his way, students attending Yavapai Community College  could not vote in Arizona elections unless they were Arizona citizens before moving to the Campus.  A similar proposal introduced by him earlier this year died when Representative  Doug Coleman, (R-Apache Junction) refused to even give it a hearing in the House Government Committee that he chairs.

In a ruling, upheld without comment in 1979 by the United States Supreme Court, the Court of
Appeals said students can choose whether to register to vote where they live while at school or at their prior home address.

For more information about Thorpe’s proposal, please click here to read the on-line story by Howard Fischer from the Verde Independent.