AFTER SPENDING $150 MILLION IN LAST TWO DECADES ON DEVELOPING THE WEST SIDE OF THE COUNTY, ISN’T IT TIME TO FINALLY COMPREHENSIVELY CONSIDER THE 70,00 EAST SIDE RESIDENTS?

By R. Oliphant
Friday, January 4th, 2019

Hope is new President will have the creative skills and courage to stand against the powerful Prescott based politicians and begin to seriously develop post-secondary education for the 70,000 residents of the east side of the County

Commentary

Wow!  Have the west side Yavapai  Community College politicians and presidents ever delivered to Prescott and Prescott Valley residents in the last two decades! On that side of Mingus Mountain, you’ll find a new tennis complex, swimming pool, therapy pool, 1,100 state-of-the-art dinner theater, renovated residence halls, renovation of all parking lots and every campus building, $20 million new CTE Campus, a huge athletic program, baseball field, softball field, leased soccer fields, major sized gymnasium, new 4-year program with ASU, a new Allied Health facility, new police training building,  and much more.  Meanwhile, east side residents have either slept through all this selfish development for one part of the County or have been marginalized during this period.

One can only wonder at the self-interest of the West County voting Bloc and the college presidents in terms of equitably sharing post-secondary community college resources throughout Yavapai County.  According to College documents, since 2000, the College administrations, with Governing Board agreement (often voting 3-2 during this period)  have pumped somewhere around $150 million dollars into west side community college development. 

To illustrate, almost $60 million (maybe more) of the $69.5 million 2000 bond went to west County development.  In addition to the bond money, the College spent other funds to build an $11 million heating plant, a $20 million dollar Career and Technical Education Campus at the Prescott Airport, and around $7 million to renovate two dormitories.  If that doesn’t take your breath away, recall that in 2013 the Governing Board approved in concept spending around $100 million on the west side of the campus for additional construction and renovation. (That has been reduced to something around $65 million.)

Meanwhile, the College spent $18 million to replace the infrastructure, renovate and replace the 40 year-old falling down wooden buildings on the Verde Campus and about a half million for the poorly designed outdoor pavilion. After citizens put a halt to the idea of selling the Sedona Center, and after it was essentially closed for over two years, the College has invested around $5.5 million in renovation and a parking lot and street.   

East side taxpayers, of course, paid for all of the renovation and construction on their side of Mingus Mountain. They also paid for a substantial portion of the multi-million dollar construction and renovation program on the west side of the County but receive little or no benefit from it.

Isn’t it time to seriously lay out a clear, comprehensive and understandable post-secondary five-year development program for the east side of the County?  Isn’t it time to begin developing new programs and projects on the east side of the County using east side property taxes that now flow to Prescott?

If this is to happen, however, it will require the College’s new president to first recognize the plight of east side residents and then creatively initiate a major development program over here. If the new president continues in the mold of the former president and the West County voting Bloc continues its domination over the 70,000 residents on this side of Mingus Mountain, the east side of the County will eventually become a post-secondary wasteland.

Categories : Editorials/Essays

REVIEWING 2018 BLOG POSTS FOR LAST SIX MONTHS

By R. Oliphant
Sunday, December 30th, 2018

More than 250 stories were posted on the Blog in 2018; below are listed only the headlines for 48  that were posted in the last six month period.

The Eyeonyavpaicollege.com Blog has been busy this year.  It has posted over 250 stories during the entire year.  Listed below are the headlines related to 47 stories about the College, some of which appeared only on the Blog.  The Blog has grouped the stories into broad general categories.

  1. New President. (Dr. Penelope Wills resigns, Dr. Lisa Rhine hired.
  2. Lawsuits. College loses first round in Arizona Court of Appeals in Donovan v. Yavapai College, et. al. lawsuit.
  3. Yavapai loses summary judgment motions in federal court in Hamilton v. Yavapai College lawsuit.
  4. Resignation. Director of OLLI program in Sedona/Verde Valley Robin Weeks resigned.
  5. Dominance of west side. Dominance of Prescott area campuses revealed in faculty & staff directory; 87% faculty/staff employed on west side of County.
  6. College web shows 110 community education classes offered this fall in Prescott; in contrast, Sedona offers 16, Verde Campus 9, and Camp Verde (0). (These are not OLLI classes.)
  7. College athletic teams continue strong showing; teams play matches & games only on west side of County.
  8. Retirees on West side of County continue to enjoy tennis complex, indoor swimming pool, Performing Arts Center, therapy pool and other College run projects.
  9. Emergency student food/financial aid available to students on Prescott Campus; not on Verde Campus.
  10. $2 million police training building going up on Prescott Campus.
  11. $1.5 million second floor renovation in Prescott Valley progressing.
  12. New indoor ambulance lab constructed for EMSs training on Prescott Campus.
  13. College pours money into unneeded renovation of Prescott Campus rock house.
  14. ASU announces it will begin joint Bachelor of Applied Science program with Community College in allied health at Prescott Valley Center.
  15. Drug abuse. Two Community College students die of drug overdose in Prescott Valley.
  16. Parents sound alarm at possible drug use by Community College baseball players
  17. Board election/politics. Paul Chevalier elected to represent third district on Community College Governing Board.
  18. Verde Valley and representative Deb McCasland protests cause Community College to abandon plans to send alleged politically tainted postcards support incumbent Governing Board members prior to election. Attorney General launches investigation.
  19. College issues story critics claim was crafted to influence the election of Board member Sigafoos.
  20. Paul Chevalier explains basis for seeking injunction before college pulled mailing of politically tainted postcards.
  21. Board member McCarver harshly attacks board member McCasland in Board evaluation.
  22. Prescott dominated Community College foundation influence begins trickling into Verde Valley College Governing Board election.
  23. Three of four Verde Valley legislative candidates view education and the community college in the Verde Valley as a “most important issue”; Thorpe (who won) makes no comment.
  24. Enrollment. Dual enrollment declines in Verde Valley for second year in a row; big change after years of increasing enrollment in these classes.
  25. Arizona state university reports 12% increase in freshman enrollment this fall.
  26. Fall enrollment on Verde Campus/Sedona Center estimated to have about same number of students (13 down) in face-to-face classes but students will take fewer courses with a corresponding drop of about 300 contact hours. College attributes decline in students taking courses to part-time employment.
  27. Eight-week lead program attracts 25 students this year. Prescott students stay in residence halls; Verde Students drive to school each day; program enrolled 25 when 48 has been the historic but never attained goal.
  28. East County (Verde Valley) residents, politicians, educational experts’ express needs/hope for the future. Verde Valley Academy for Technical Superintendent hopes College CTE facility will be built on east side of County in not too distant future.
  29. Poor Building “L” on Verde Campus up again for discussion of future use another time in January 2019.
  30. Yavapai-Apache Nation (east side of County) Chair Jane Russell-Winiecki says Business of running Yavapai College sadly lacking.
  31. President of Beaver Creek Association on east side of County reminds Board the Valley residents have repeatedly asked for lower taxes, lower tuition, more academic classes, better CTE and more services with little response.
  32. East side citizens remind Governing Board that they have “explained” and asked “over and over” for a centralized CTE facility.
  33. Mayors, superintendents agree on host of needs in Verde Valley at Community College public forum August 17. Critical need for affordable student housing; major economic development; centralized Career and Technical Education Center and improved cooperative relationship between East Valley and College; overarching theme was “it’s finally time to invest in the Verde Valley: Take some chances.”
  34. College tells Sedona Mayor and City Council it has done little in response to specific request made 18 months earlier that it look into CTE training for carpenters, plumbers, HVAC, etc. on east side of County. College says request was forwarded to Vice President Liss but knows of no progress being made on it.
  35. Verde Campus trail project (completely different than Prescott Campus project) moves slowly forward.
  36. Verde Campus free fall concerts attract few attendees.
  37. Southwest Wine Center. Wine & Dine in the Vines fundraiser on Verde Campus Saturday, October 27 a success.
  38. College’s Southwest Wine Center continues to win awards for its products.
  39. Southwest Wine Center on Verde Campus harvests 24.8 tons of grapes with help from students and volunteers.
  40. Biggest failure. The RESA Corporation and the Community College training program to supply RESA with college-trained technicians begun with great anticipation in January 2018 will be shuttered when the eight remaining students complete their training this fall.
  41. Ceremonies/awards. College 50 Year Anniversary Celebration held at campuses and centers.
  42. College awarded Emmy in the informational/instructional category by Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the national academy of television arts & sciences.
  43. Yavapai college awarded a partnership for success grant from the Center for Substance abuse.
  44. Jewish Community Foundation with help from others makes hundredth healthcare scholarship award.
  45. Athletics. Roster for Yavapai Community College male soccer team announced; only one member of team from Yavapai County.
  46. Other. College administration moves $2 million from general fund to capital accumulation fund for capital projects. Money could but won’t be used for educational programming, paying down existing bonds, or scholarships.
  47. Yavapai Community College creates office of Alumni Affairs.
  48. Don’t miss professor Justin Brereton’s weekly gardening suggestions; a prof who is truly giving back to the community.
Categories : Editorials/Essays

POOR BUILDING “L” WITH ITS CHECKERED HISTORY UP AGAIN FOR DISCUSSION IN JANUARY

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, December 29th, 2018

Has it become the Rodney Dangerfield of Yavapai Community College? 

Poor building “L.” Has it become the Rodney Dangerfield of Yavapai Community College? Rodney once joked:  “I get no respect at all – When I was a kid, I lost my parents at the beach. I asked a lifeguard to help me find them. He said, `I don’t know kid, there are so many places they could hide'”. 

The year 2000: It seems that nobody has respect for Building “L”  and the future of Building “L” is hiding.  Recall that in 2000 County voters in approved a $69.5 million bond to improve community College facilities in the district.  Among those improvements was construction of Building “L” as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) building on the Verde campus in Clarkdale.  Voters approved spending about $1.3 million of their tax money the Federal Conference Department Workforce Development Center added another $1.2 million. 

Eighteen years ago plan. Eighteen years ago the College plan was to aggressively develop a CTE facility on the Clarkdale Campus to serve at least three counties in northern Arizona.  At the time the College staff said that “[T]he (Center) will provide much-needed educational space and resources to further develop job training programs to benefit residents of northern Arizona.” It was intended to provide an opportunity for northern Arizona residents to gain specific work related skills that would allow them to seek immediate employment or increase their level of income in their current positions.

The year 2004: By 2004 the building “L”was completed and  the College launched an aggressive effort at developing the CTE  program. The staff explained that “the basic vision was to not only provide livable wages for the jobs currently available in Northern Arizona but also to identify new opportunities, such as higher technology, to upgrade job-skills training.” Staff also said that the CTE program was intended to improve skills training for the jobs that are already here. “We’re going to get more involved in the building and construction trades.”

According to staff, “the bottom line of the project is to help rural Arizonans find good jobs.”

But things did not go well for the development of the program.  Hardly had it got off the ground when the Prescott dominated Governing Board began exploring creation of a sophisticated and forward-looking CTE campus for the west side of the County. 

The year 2007:  With little serious consultation with the east County residents, the College Governing Board purchased the huge 105,000 square-foot facility at the Prescott airport. It  opened a CTE campus that serves almost exclusively residents and high school students on that side of Mingus mountain.

Unfortunately, the vision of a major CTE program on the East side of the County began to fade as soon as the new CTE campus on the west side of the County was opened.  Classes on the East side of the County were closed.  Over the past twenty years, the college has invested in taxes, grants and contributions something around $20 million in the Prescott CTE campus.  Meanwhile, it has essentially ignored the problems of access to sophisticated, advanced CTE training on the East side of the County. 

The years 2007-08: In 2007 and 2008 the College indicated it had expanded the nursing facilities in Building “L” by spending about $1.4 million on renovation during a two-year fiscal time period (using College expenditure reports).

The year 2013:  In December 2013 the College announced its ten-year Master Development Plan and said the nursing program was leaving building “L” and labs for agricultural classes were going to be installed. Here is what the College wrote in its Master Plan:  “Building L currently houses the Nursing program. As the program migrates to the Prescott Valley campus, the master plan recommends renovating this building for use by the agriculture programs relocating from the Chino center. As laboratories already exist in Building L, the addition of the agricultural classes will virtually recreate the Chino Valley Center’s main building.” Page 67 2014 Master Plan.  https://masterplan.yc.edu/files/2014/01/Final-Report-RPT-2014-0218-WEB_UPDATED.pdf.

“Following construction of the new center (sic), the existing Prescott Valley programs and the Nursing and Allied Health programs from Prescott and Verde Valley would migrate to the new location. This, in turn, would free up space on the Prescott campus for NARTA/AJS to move to the second floor of Building 2 and for agriculture to move from Chino to Verde Valley.”   Page 89 2014 Master Plan. https://masterplan.yc.edu/files/2014/01/Final-Report-RPT-2014-0218-WEB_UPDATED.pdf

Interim 2013-17: Nursing program apparently has not moved from the east side of the County.  The idea of closing and selling the Chino Valley campus has apparently been tabled.

March 2, 2017.   On March 2, 2017 the Community College Governing Board received an updated Master Plan report from Vice President Clint Ewell stating that Building “L” would undergo another renovation for Career and Technical Education facilities somewhat similar to some of those at the Prescott airport.  That report as written by the College read:  “Verde Valley: Building L has now been scheduled for a major renovation to enhance its ability to offer Career Technical Education (CTE) programming. We plan to do this work in FY19, giving VACTE a year to conduct their planning and to provide input to YC. Verde Valley Campus will continue to offer Nursing, as well as other CTE programming such as Viticulture, Enology, and Film & Media Arts. This represents an increase of roughly $3.8M.”  https://www.yc.edu/v5content/district-governing-board/sub/2017/03/agenda_full.pdf

November 28, 2017 Sedona City Council meeting:  Verde Campus Executive Dean James Perey told the Sedona City Council that Building “L” would most likely be renovated for nursing.

January 10, 2019: A hand-picked group (invitation only) is being assembled by the Community College to once again discuss the future of Building “L.”

 

Categories : Allied Health Campus, Construction, CTEC

CAN YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE BETTER USE DOWN TIME? STUDENT BREAK RUNS FROM DECEMBER 14 TO JANUARY 14. WHY NOT SHORT INTENSIVE THREE-WEEK FLEX CLASSES?

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, December 29th, 2018

Why not turn loose creativity in educational design?

Yavapai Community College shows little creativity in its educational design.  This is especially true when you see the months it is closed down with no students on campus.  For example, the fall-winter break for students runs from December 14 to January 14. 

With a new President, there is hope that serious creativity may return to change the current stodgy educational paradigm where there are hundreds of hours of potential learning going unused.  However, a serious creative change in how things have always been done will, of course, require a lot of very hard work and commitment.

One of the first and easiest changes to the College’s current educational design is to begin using all the down time you find in its year-long schedule for FLEX courses.  Why not, for example, use this period in the fall-winter break as an opportunity to teach one or two credit courses not regularly offered in the curriculum in an intense compressed-format?  Or, occasionally a three-credit course. Call the period something like “Our Intense Flexible, Creative offerings.”

Studies of Colleges using intense ;short courses have shown they have advantages.  David Gooblar, writing in the Chronicle Vitae observed the following:  “Whether they are taught in the summer or at other times of the year, these short  intensified courses are increasingly a standard feature at North American universities. Cramming a whole semester’s worth of material into as little as three weeks often appeals to older students, to students with inflexible work schedules or family commitments, and to those trying to make up credits for various reasons.”

He went on to write that “In a paper published in the Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, William Kops, a professor of general studies at the University of Manitoba, surveyed the literature on compressed-format courses and found a surprising amount of unanimity.

“There’s not a huge amount of research into the quality of these courses, but what there is almost entirely supports the conclusion that they are as good as semester-long courses. Using a variety of metrics, researchers over the past 20 years have concluded that intensive courses do no disservice to students, and may ever offer some advantages. For example, students tend to be more focused, discussions deeper, and teacher-student relationships closer in compressed courses than in traditional ones.”

The College could, for example, consider Flex courses like the following: Sport and American Society, Cross-Cultural Communication, Living with Quakes,  World Music, Dance in Culture,  US National Government. Highly specialized Career and Technical Education courses could also be taught as a part of the Flex program.

It’s time to think creatively; really outside the box.  Considering Flex courses is a mere beginning.

 

Categories : CURRICULUM

FOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS EARN PRESTIGIOUS 2018 – 2019 ALL – ARIZONA ACADEMIC TEAM SCHOLARSHIPS

By R. Oliphant
Friday, December 28th, 2018

Two students from Verde Valley; two students from West side of Mingus receive scholarships

Four Yavapai Community College students have earned prestigious 2018-2019 All-Arizona Academic Team scholarships.  The scholarships enable them to continue pursuing their academic and career dreams tuition-free at any Arizona university. The four honorees are:

Shanandoah Sterling of Sedona; Amanda McCloud of Cornville, Ashlynn Bice of Prescott Valley, and Kiva Keith of Prescott.

The scholarships were awarded by the Arizona Board of Regents from nominations submitted by a local committee that reviewed applications based on three things: academic achievement, leadership, and community service. The All-Arizona Academic Team winners will be recognized at a statewide celebration in late February 2019.

Denise Woolsey, director of the Community College Honors Program and advisor to Phi Theta Kappa honor society, said each of the All-Arizona Academic Team honorees represent a cross section of the student population.  “Shanandoah is a returning student, Amanda is a working mom pursuing a degree as an example to her children.  Ashlynn and Kiva chose college over other opportunities. They are all very motivated and all four give back to the community above and beyond their school work and work obligations,” she said.

Yavapai Community College students pursuing academics or career training perform well every year in the All-Arizona Academic Team scholarship competition, Woolsey said. “Having recipients each year shows a commitment to quality education and the support we give to our students to thrive in an academic setting.”

Information about the winners (as provided by the Community College):

Ashlynn Bice. Ms. Bice is an aspiring pediatric trauma physician. She plans to transfer to the University of Arizona and major in biology en route to a medical degree.  She works as an emergency medical technician for Lifeline Ambulance and as a yoga instructor. She is  also a volunteer for Teen Maze and is a peer mentor. She is a member of both CHP and PTK and was named to the President’s List.

Kiva Keith. Ms. Keith plans to transfer to the University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, ultimately earning a graduate degree in sustainable design. She looks forward to a career in architecture or city planning. Kiva organized the college “Warm for winter” charity drive and is a volunteer with the YC emergency food pantry. She is also a member of both CHP and PTK and a recipient of an academic honors award.

Amanda (Mandie) McCloud. Ms. McCloud plans to pursue degrees in history and linguistics from the University of Arizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. She aspires to one day teach history at the high school or college level. She serves as a writing and history tutor at the YC Verde Valley campus Learning Center and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa. She was also named Outstanding Student in History and Humanities at the Verde Valley campus.

Shanandoah Sterling. Ms. Sterling plans to transfer to Northern Arizona University and eventually pursue a master’s degree in English and a certification to teach English as a Second Language. She aims to one day teach English to children and adults internationally. Currently she is a volunteer ESL teacher at the Sedona Public library. She is also vice president of Phi Theta Kappa and the English Club at the Verde Valley campus and served on the Community College presidential search committee.

 

Categories : Scholarships

COLLEGE LOSES FIRST ROUND OVER MEANING OF STATUTE IN ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS

By R. Oliphant
Sunday, December 23rd, 2018

Appeals panel rules in favor of Loretta Donovan in building mold dispute over how claims should be worded; no report to public about case or decision by College; case will move forward

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Loretta Donovan in a lawsuit she brought against Yavapai College and several other government agencies and officials earlier this year. (LORETTA DONOVAN, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. YAVAPAI COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT DBA: YAVAPAI COLLEGE, Defendant/Appellee.No. 1 CA-CV 17-0290, Decided: May 31, 2018.) 

Donovan worked in a building for Northern Arizona Council of Governments at the Prescott Valley Head Start program. The building was leased from Yavapai Community College.

Donovan claimed she noticed mold in the building and alleged her exposure to it resulted in physical injury.  She complained to her employer about the mold and the alleged failure to remedy the problem, and was then fired.  Pursuant to state law, she sent a notice of claim to the Yavapai College who owned the building, the Northern Arizona Council of Governments, and several other entities.

Yavapai Community College lawyers challenged Donovan’s Notice of Claim on a technical point of statutory interpretation.  They claimed her lawyer’s Notice of Claim failed to set forth any specific claims against each of the parties involved. Donovan’s letter stated that she would “accept the sum of $450,000 as full and final settlement.” The offer was not accepted, and six months passed.

The College was represented by Milton W. Hathaway, Jr. of the Prescott law firm of Murphy, Schmitt, Hathaway & Wilson PLLC.  When the College challenged the Notice of Claim initially in Superior Court, it won. However, Donovan appealed and the Court of Appeals reversed holding in her favor.  The case has now been returned to the Superior Court for trial.

There is no indication that a Petition for Review in the Arizona Supreme Court has been filed by the College or other defendants.

There is also no indication that the College informed the public or the Governing Board during public meetings about this lawsuit.

Categories : Lawsuits

MYSTERY OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE AVIATION PROGRAM, PART 2, THE LEGAL GRAVY TRAIN

By R. Oliphant
Sunday, December 23rd, 2018

Lawsuit a dream for Community College defense lawyers

The lawsuit between former Yavapai Community College Aviation Director and the College in some respects is a dream come true for the defense team representing the College and its various employees who have been individually sued.  The reason is that the defense team, in a lawsuit like this, finds itself riding a legal fee gravy train without a clear stopping point.  After all, this lawsuit has dragged on for almost six years. It involves multiple parties and requires lots and lots of lawyer time.

The records show that so far there have been interrogatories, video depositions and several summary judgment motions, briefs and oral arguments in federal district court.  The case is now poised to go to trial.

While the lawyers have not revealed exactly how much they charge by the hour, it is not uncommon for lawyers in cases like this to be asking the College to pay from $200 to $400 an hour for legal services.

The names of lawyers listed as involved in some way in some portion of this case over the years only representing the College and its individually named employees includes:  Elizabeth Ann Gilbert , Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC, Georgia A Staton , Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC., Steven Douglas Leach , Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC., Donald Peder Johnsen , Gallagher & Kennedy PA, Georgia A Staton , Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC & Steven Douglas Leach , Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC., Jodi R. Bohr, Gallagher & Kennedy PA.

It is hard to estimate the total amount that the defense lawyers have charged the college so far for legal representation in this legal action.  One person interviewed close to the lawsuit claimed that one of the parties not covered by College insurance, Guidance Aviation, may have already been billed over a million dollars to defend the lawsuit.  The claim could not be confirmed by the Blog.

Even better for the College defense team, the legal fees appear guaranteed by the College’s insurance fund.  If this case goes through trial and there are appeals, the defense team will walk away with a ton of guaranteed cash for legal representation (unless the court orders the plaintiff to pay legal fees).  A lawsuit like this appears to the Blog to be a legal fee gravy train for college defense lawyers.

Categories : Lawsuits

THE MYSTERY OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AVIATION PROGRAM: PART 1

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, December 22nd, 2018

College has lost over a million dollars in tuition; may pay out hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, if it loses lawsuit; public kept in the dark; it’s time for transparency and facts

Yavapai Community College has an aviation program it operates with partners Guidance Aviation and North-Aire, both corporations located at the Prescott, Arizona airport.  Despite a lawsuit that has dragged on for almost six years and a huge loss of tuition when the Veterans Administration changed its funding rules, there have been no detailed reports provided by President Penelope Wills about the program’s problems and progress toward resolving issues such as attendance, drop-out rate, student recruitment, in addition to the status of the six-year whistle blower lawsuit.

According to the College, it anticipated losing about $1 million dollars in tuition from the aviation program beginning in 2017 because of new Veterans Administration enrollment regulations.  Whether it lost that much, and whether the loss is continuing, remains a mystery from the public and the Governing Board.

Moreover, the long drawn-out whistle-blower lawsuit brought by the former director of the aviation program has already cost thousands of dollars in attorney fees and may result in thousands of dollars of additional fees and costs being paid the plaintiff if he wins the lawsuit in federal court.

The College has refused or ignored providing either the Governing Board or the public any information about the program or the lawsuit. There has been virtually no detailed information given the public or the Governing Board about the program, its enrollment, problems etc. The last update from president Wills about the lawsuit was over a year ago.

Over the past several years, the District Governing Board has never looked into the aviation program in any depth or asked any serious questions about how it is being run.  The following is a simple list of questions that one would have expected the Governing Board to ask in light of the problems with this program.

  1. Why does the Community College have an aeronautical program at all when Embry-Riddle University has a robust one?
  2. Why does the Community College change $525 per credit hour for those teaching this course when general tuition is less than $100 for all other students? Is it because the VA will pay the fee rather than the actual cost of teaching the courses?
  3. Is the flight training program realistically available to students whose tuition cannot be paid by the Veterans Administration?  If not, is it meeting the purpose of the community college operating such a program?
  4. In 2016 the Administration told the College that it was projecting that it would lose $1 million in tuition in 2017 because of a decline in enrollment in the aviation program. Is it continuing to lose a million or more each year when compared to 2015-16 enrollment?
  5. There was a suggestion a couple years ago that the College or its partners search for foreign students to build enrollment in the program. Has the College and/or its partners attempted to do this?  How successful have they been?
  6. How much does the College estimate has been paid out (or charged) by the numerous attorneys that have been defending the College and various parties since 2012 whistle-blower lawsuit? One person close to the lawsuit claims that Guidance Aviation may have already paid or been billed over a million dollars in attorney fees.(Blog could not confirm this amount.)  
  7. How much money may be paid out if the College from its trust insurance paid for by taxpayers if it loses the whistle-blower case in federal court? (Speculation by some is that the insurance/trust fund could pay out millions of dollars if lawsuit is successful on one count alone.)
  8.  How does the College and its partners make the aviation programs available to potential students living in Sedona and the Verde Valley, if it does?

At a minimum, these areas should be explored and information provided the District Governing Board and the public.  It is time for transparency.

Categories : Aviation program, Lawsuits

SHOULD $20,000 EXPENSE HAVE BEEN A CONSIDERATION IN HOLDING OVER WILLS?

By R. Oliphant
Friday, December 21st, 2018

One month of service in January will result in payment to Wills of about $20,000

Some have questioned whether it is worth spending $20,000 to hold over current president Penelope Wills for one month (January) while awaiting the new Community College President to arrive.  The cost to the College for the one month of service by Wills is about $20,000.

The argument that it was not necessary to give her a one-month interim appointment is that one of the vice presidents could have easily filled in for the 31 day period in January 2019. Therefore, a savings of $20,000 to the College, assuming the VP would not charge that amount for the 31 days.

The contrary view is that Wills will add a sort of continuity to the change-over.  Obviously, most of those on the Governing Board felt that possibly saving $20,000 was not of significance as they approved the interim appointment. Someone once said, “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned.”  Should the phrase have applied here?

Categories : Politics

NEWLY HIRED PRESIDENT RHINE TO FORMALLY BEGIN DUTIES FEBRUARY 1

By R. Oliphant
Friday, December 21st, 2018

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.

 

Categories : Politics
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