Penelope Wills to stay on until then as Interim President

According to information released by the Community College, newly hired Community College president Dr. Lisa Rhine will officially begin her duties February 1.  Until that date, Penelope Wills will act as Interim President.  The Community College Governing Board approved the arrangement earlier this month.

Dr. Rhine will become the institution’s 10th president. Rhine was the unanimous choice of the Community College District Governing Board. She brings more than 30 years of higher-education experience in academic affairs and student development, most recently as provost of Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Virginia.

Despite “certain illnesses,”  asking others to run in the District for the seat, and loaning his campaign at least $5,000, he won the November election by 6,443 votes to his challenger, Wayne Meddaugh’s 5,652; unfounded rumors may have helped push victory to Sigafoos

Wayne Meddaugh

Ray Sigafoos

Ray Sigafoos retained his District #1 seat on the Yavapai Community College Governing Board by getting about 53 percent of the vote (with 13 of 14 precincts reporting) at the Tuesday, November 6 election. 

Sigafoos had indicated before he announced he was going to run for the Board  that he had certain undisclosed illnesses. It was thought his health might prevent him from running. He was first appointed to the Board in 2005 and ran unopposed at two prior elections for the seat.

Sigafoos had also asked others to run for the District #1 seat but his request was rejected.  He then filed.

The stakes were high for the District #1 seat  because it was clear that Wayne Meddaugh would welcome and cooperate with the Verde Valley representatives.  Sigafoos was seen as someone who would protect the west side of the County from giving the east side an equitable opportunity at developing a strong community college presence. In doing so, he would be less than cooperative.

Sigafoos may have been helped by unfounded rumors circulating in Prescott that if Meddaugh and Paul Chevalier won the election, the Verde Valley would take the Community College away from Prescott.  And that big donors would refuse to follow through on anticipated donations.

Meddaugh ran a conservative campaign and could not match the thousands of dollars that Sigafoos put into the effort.

Governing Board watchers speculate that Sigafoos ran to block Meddaugh and will probably resign long before his new six-year term is up.

Seeks to advocate for the Verde Valley and the entire County; well aware of inequities between Prescott and the Verde Valley

Paul Chevalier won the six-year term for the third district Governing Board seat on the Yavapai  Community College Governing Board at Tuesday’s election.  Chevalier won with 54.8 percent of the vote.  That amounted to 5,787 votes in his favor.  His opponent received 4,744 votes.

Chevalier has pledged to advocate on behalf of the Verde Valley and the entire County.  He brings experience and is fully informed about  the tax and educational inequity between the Verde Valley and the Prescott side of Mingus Mountain.  He joins first district representative Deb McCasland on the Board. McCasland has been fighting almost alone for the Verde Valley since former third district representative Al Filardo resigned in protest over the suspension of the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee in 2016. His replacement, who was appointed after his resignation, did little to advocate for the needs of the Valley.

Says as a conservative he would have approved reduction of Bond obligation using funds from sale of Prescott Valley property and opposed the latest tax rate increase

Wayne Meddaugh

District #1 Yavapai Community College Governing Board candidate Wayne Meddaugh spoke to the Board at its October meeting.  Meddaugh stated that as a conservative he would have voted against the tax rate increase in May 2017.  He said he did not find that the increase was needed.

He also applauded Deb McCasland for her voting record.  He said he agreed with her and the Board that the money from the sale of the Prescott Valley property was best used to reduce bond indebtedness. His speech too the Governing Board follows below.

Explains reasons for doing so

Governing Board Candidate Paul Chevalier addressed the Yavapai Community College Governing Board at its September 11 meeting. He asked the Board to wait until after the November election to make the final selection for the new College President and allow the “new Board” to make the selection.  This would mean that the final selection would be made in January if any new members are elected to the Board at the November election.

Candidate Connie Harris has made it clear she wants to make the appointment of a new president, even if she is not elected in November. 

Chevalier argued that if two new Board members are selected by voters at the November election, they should be a part of the Board that makes a final decision on the new College president.  He said that would be fair, that it would be the “essence of our democracy.” 

Chevalier also argued that if the current challengers win, the public is saying they want a “change” in how the College is operating.  That would probably mean a “change” in some of the duties of the new president.  So it may be a totally different, or partially different, college president than the current Governing Board would select.

Mrs. Chevalier’s address to the Governing Board appears on the video below.

Urges Board to listen to citizens who are speaking to it about this issue

Ruth Wicks

Citizen Ruth Wicks appeared before the Yavapai Community College Governing Board at its October meeting.  She urged the Governing Board to delay final appointment of a College president until the Board, including any new members, was seated in January.

Wicks’ suggested the decision to move ahead and make the appointment in December, regardless of the election outcome and the possible seating of new Board members, gave the appearance of a “do or die process.”  She also suggested that by sticking so rigidly with the current selection date that there was an undercurrent of concern or suspicion that the new president had somehow already been selected.

You may view Ms. Wicks plea to the Board for delay in the short video below.

Says Chevalier’s opponent is an “absentee College representative”

Paul Chevalier

Christoper Fox-Graham

The Sedona Redrock News strongly endorsed Paul Chevalier for the Third District Governing Board seat in an editorial in its Friday, November 2 edition.  The endorsement, written by the paper’s  managing editor Christoper Fox-Graham, said that Chevalier “has the experience to serve and is well-aware of the college tax and educational inequity between the Verde Valley and the Prescott side of Mingus Mountain and has fought to reverse it.”

His opponent, wrote Mr. Fox-Graham, “has been an absentee representative and failed to defend the interests of Verde Valley taxpayers since her appointment in January 2017. We have little faith this would change if she were reelected.”

The newspaper urged voters to vote for Mr. Chevalier.

You may read the entire endorsement by the newspaper online by clicking here. 

Response reproduced below originally made to reporter Bill Helm in October 23 Verde Independent

Paul Chevalier

Verde Independent reporter Bill Helm asked Paul Chevalier to respond to Yavapai-Apache Nation’s Council Chair Jane Russell-Winiecki’s letter criticizing the governance model used at Yavapai Community College. Mr. Chevalier is a candidate for the Governing Board.  The following are Mr. Helm’s questions and Mr. Chavlier’s response as reported in the newspaper October 23:

(Mr. Helm) Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Council Chairwoman Jane Russell-Winiecki recently said in a commentary that Yavapai College is “sadly lacking” and that the current model of governance “is ineffective.” Do you agree with the chairwoman’s statement? Please explain. 

(Mr. Chevalier) I agree 100 percent. The current model is wrong and has been a disaster for the Verde Valley.

In this model, the board delegates almost all decisions to the president. What is left for the board to do is approving the president’s recommendations for the annual budget, tax, tuition and fee hikes and the President’s salary.

The current president has spent millions of dollars of our Verde Valley taxpayers’ money to expand one single campus in the county, and that is in Prescott.

Our Clarkdale site is not considered a community college campus by this state (too insignificant – too few students, teachers and classes) and neither is any other place in this county, except Prescott considered a community college. 

A county community college system is supposed to bring education to residents’ communities throughout the county — not just one spot in a county bigger than Vermont, Delaware or Israel.

The current model, which gives the president the power to focus on creating a community college in only one spot in the county, ensures we, in the Verde Valley, will never be allowed to get equity and use our tax money for our residents. 

(Mr. Helm)  With several community colleges in the Phoenix and the Tucson areas, as well as four-year universities north and south of the Verde Valley, what do you believe that Yavapai College needs to do to remain a relevant and desirable option for post-secondary learners?

(Mr. Chevalier) By giving our residents the educational opportunity they need and want, and to do it at a much lower price, by being much more cost effective than we have been.

I would create classes, in partnership with business, for needed professional middle class paying jobs – i.e. HAV, electricians, plumbers, various hospital technicians, nurses (in conjunction with hospitals) etc. I would train chefs, not just line cooks (which are minimum wage jobs), at the Culinary Institute.  

I would expand our wine production educational capabilities. This is a winner so let’s go with it.

I believe our board members should get out more in our communities to find out what jobs are needed and wanted and how to partner with our businesses. Ultimately the buck stops with the Governing Board. 

(Mr. Helm) With the Verde Valley’s reputation as the place where young people flee once they graduate high school, what could Yavapai College do to keep young people in the area for college – and beyond?

(Mr. Chevalier) I do not have an answer for this. I do know that for those young and not so young people who do want to stay in the Verde Valley we need to try and provide them with good and relevant education leading to middle class and above jobs right here in the Verde Valley, if they so wish.

Charges that current model of governance is not forward thinking and is ineffective

In a letter to the Verde Independent of October 16, 2018 Jane Russell-Winiecki charged that the current model of governing Yavapai College is not “forward thinking” and “ineffective.”  Ms. Russell-Winiecki  is the chairwoman of the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s Tribal Council. The following is the letter she sent to the newspaper.

It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when the Verde Valley campus of Yavapai College was a busy, bustling campus. Two of my children attended; one while attending Mingus Union High School and the other after graduation from Mingus.

Visiting the beautiful campus was an adventure. The bookstore was open and filled with students. There was also a busy little lunch room. One often had to drive around to find an open parking space.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation has a longstanding scholarship program which paid my children’s tuition, fees and expenses. Over the years, the Nation’s Scholarship Program has grown with an ever-expanding population of high school graduates.

Many of our Tribal citizens have taken advantage of the college’s two-year degree programs, which easily transferred to four-year programs at the state’s three universities. The college became a good resource and starting point for local students seeking higher education.

Unfortunately, recently at Yavapai College, many courses have disappeared, resulting in a significant drop in attendance and degrees by the Nation’s students.

A visit to the campus these days will find plenty of parking spaces and an all but abandoned campus. We understand that college enrollment is down across the country and that distance learning is a wave of the future. But what a sad statement, that the Nation is unable to spend its millions of scholarship dollars in its own community.

With the prospect of a 2-percent increase in taxes, most of which go to the Prescott campus, has the college considered improving its Verde Valley curriculum to see if the community may respond with increased enrollments, thereby increasing revenues to its bottom line?

From the Nation’s point of view, the ‘business’ of running a college is sadly lacking and the current model of governance is not forward thinking and is ineffective. The Governing Board has basically abdicated their role and turned their responsibilities over to the college. We’re looking for someone who supports the Verde Valley Yavapai College.

In our view, past goals for the Verde Valley have not included any substantial progress and we believe we need to take a serious look at our future Board of Directors.

The prospect of a new Yavapai College president is encouraging and we look forward to an individual who is interested in the educational well-being of the whole of Yavapai College, including not only Prescott but the Verde Valley. We have studied our options for the upcoming Yavapai College Governing Board election and are going to support the individual who is interested in supporting the Verde Valley Campus through their leadership and voting record.

We believe that most voters do not support raising taxes each year as a matter of practice and hope that voters are interested in meeting the increasing educational needs in the Verde Valley.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation will always support efforts to satisfy the increasing educational needs, not only of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, but also the needs of all communities throughout the Verde Valley.

We encourage voters to find the candidate that best fits that definition. We certainly do all that we can to support our student’s needs through our scholarship program.

Given an improved curriculum and strong Board leadership, we would love nothing more than to once again send our citizens to Yavapai College’s Verde Valley Campus.

This letter originally appeared in the Verde Independent, October 16, 2018 at 

https://www.verdenews.com/news/2018/oct/16/commentary-business-running-yavapai-college-sadly-/

Verde Independent remains silent; Postcards allegedly masquerading as a newsletter would have hyped current Board members running for election

The Sedona Red Rock News has joined the Cottonwood Journal in reporting on the investigation into the alleged politically tainted postcards masquerading as a newsletter Yavapai Community College was preparing to send out just prior to the November election.  It is alleged that the postcards hyped the current Governing Board members including Ray Sigafoos and Connie Harris who are running in contested elections in their districts. 

The article, authored by Corey Oldenhauis, appeared on the front page of the October 19 edition of the newspaper. It detailed the conflict between College President Penelope Wills and Paul Chevalier and Wayne Meddaugh, who are running for the seats on the Board, over the meaning and application of Arizona statute 15-1408.  The statute prohibits community colleges from using their resources to influence the outcome of an election.

You may read the article by Mr. Oldenhauis on line in the Sedona Red Rock News by clicking here.