Administrators and Prescott residents joyous over new tennis complex; some taxpayers weep
The decision by the Yavapai Community College Governing Board to spend
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more than $1.1 million dollars of taxpayer money for a state-of-the-art tennis complex on the Prescott campus was joyously celebrated December 11 by Prescott dignitaries and the Yavapai Community College administrators. The College paid $840,000 for the tennis courts plus $330,000 for surrounding road repair, drainage, parking lot, lights, etc.) The City of Prescott kicked in $25,000.
For taxpayers not living in the Prescott area, it was a sad day as the College continued its Country-Club-like attitude toward spending scarce County resources on such projects. This project comes as no surprise to Verde Valley residents as it continues a decades-long College mentality of using County taxpayer funds for athletic and cultural projects almost exclusively for the benefit of Prescott area residents. Read More→
The College has submitted four new certificate courses to be offered in the Verde Valley for Faculty Curriculum Review. They are: Digital Media and Film, Culinary, Hospitality and Enology. If approved, they will go to the District Governing Board for review. If all goes well, the new programs will be offered in the fall of 2015.
Ms. Larson explained that educational opportunities that once existed in the Verde Valley have gone away. “We want in the Verde Valley what Prescott has.”
According to the College’s announcement, Verde Valley nursing students Starr Cecil from Camp Verde and Jaimy Quasula from Clarkdale were awarded the scholarships. Congratulations to these two outstanding students and the other 13. To read the College’s announcement found in the Verde Independent and see a photo of all the recipients and their names, 
In response to increasing pressure by Verde Valley residents over Prescott based administrators concentrating almost all major cultural events on the Prescott campus, the Community College has announced it will bring a series of cultural performances to the “East Yavapai County” during the 2014-15 academic year. The first of these performances is the T.S. Monk Jr. Jazz Trio, which is scheduled to perform Friday evening, August 22 on the Verde campus. The College has said that later in the season, performances such as 
Ms. Ruth Wicks reminded the Yavapai Community College Governing Board at its August 12 meeting that a decade ago it offered a total of over 600 courses at facilities located on the Verde campus, Sedona Center, Camp Verde facility and Mingus Union High School. 
The trio has received rave reviews in the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the L.A. Times, and others. There have been sold out concert hall shows across the United States, Europe, South America and the Middle East.
Verde Valley art faculty will have their work showcased.