Thirty-two reasons supporting an independent community college encompassing Sedona, Camp Verde, Cottonwood, and the remainder of the Verde Valley

Over the past 50 years, West Yavapai County politicians have maintained iron-fisted political control over the nature and scope of development of a community college that would encompass Sedona, Camp Verde, Cottonwood and the Verde Valley.  The time has come for the 70,000 citizens living on the East side of Yavapai County to remove the political yoke of control exercised by the West County politicians over community college development. It is time to create an Administrative College or ask the State Legislature to create an independent community college district or a new county.

Philosophically, there are few virtues more important than independence. Independence is a requirement for building a strong Community College on the East side of the County that reflects the values and culture of its residents. How can citizens effectively make decisions about the future of post-secondary education on the East side of the County if every action they recommend has to be filtered through the Prescott based and Prescott influenced Yavapai College Administration? And then have the Administration’s recommendation submitted to a five member Community College Governing Board with three members from the west side of the County who are likely to vote as a bloc on any recommendation that favors them?

Without independence, East County citizens can’t be the captain of their own Community College ship. At best, they must be satisfied scrubbing the decks while the powerful West-County Voting Bloc sets the direction they must follow. The following is a list of benefits, in no particular order, that would flow to the residents on the East side of Yavapai County were an independent and/or Administrative College be allowed to form.  The benefits to the East County residents of independence are overwhelming. 

THE BENEFITS OF INDEPENDENCE

1. Independence will stimulate bringing the various communities together in a common cause. With a Verde Valley Community College controlled by East side residents, the small communities and towns that make up a total of more than 70,000 residents who reside on that side of the County will have a common cause, which is to develop the East County’s own community college. Independence will bring the communities together in a positive way and reduce the sometimes competitive nature they sometimes exhibit.
2. Independence will encourage the school districts on the East side of the County to work together in a common cause. Experience has shown that the school districts on the East side of the County are not sometimes united in a way that is helpful. For example, it has taken more than a decade to get the school districts to jointly agree to consider sending high school students to a tiny centralized career and technical education center as a part of the Joint Education District (JTED). By comparison, the school districts on the West side of the County have embraced the Mountain Institute JTED and centralization of major learning programs at facilities constructed and paid for by Yavapai College from property taxes paid by all County residents.
3. Independence will allow citizens to apply property tax revenue raised in the Verde Valley to the Verde Valley. Today, a conservative estimate is that Verde Valley citizens pay a total of $14 to $15 million a year in primary and secondary property taxes to support Yavapai Community College. The College estimates it costs about $7 million annually to operate the Verde Campus and Sedona Center. In addition to primary property taxes, another estimated $1.5 million or more is used to pay off the College’s General Obligation Bond debt using secondary taxes. The excess tax revenue over operational costs is at least $5.5 million and probably much more. Usually, that excess revenue goes to the West side of the County where it supports West County projects. With independence, East County residents can apply all of their tax revenue to enhance post-secondary educational learning opportunities solely to their side of the County.
4. Independence allows tuition payments, state aid, grants, and fees paid by or because of Sedona/Verde Valley students to remain on the East side of the County. Today, Sedona/Verde Valley students enrolled at Yavapai Community College pay tuition. All tuition revenue, State aid, and student fees go to support programs on the West side of the County. (Recall that primary taxes paid by citizens fully support current operations at the Verde Campus and Sedona Center.) It is estimated that the total collected from East County students in these categories is about $1.6 million. With independence, East County residents can control this revenue and apply it to the Verde Valley Community College in Clarkdale and the Sedona Center. It can improve facilities and learning opportunities in Camp Verde and in the other rural areas of East Yavapai County.
5. Independence will allow Sedona and the Verde Valley to share in the “new construction” tax collected from throughout the County but usually all goes toward community college projects on the West side of the County. Each year the College receives from $500,000 to $800,000 in revenue because of a County tax on new construction. With independence, Sedona/Verde Valley residents can apply all of their share of the County new construction tax revenue to enhance post-secondary education on the East side of Yavapai County.
6. Independence will encourage serious consideration of the development of a centralized College Career and Technical Education Center. Today, the College operates one of the finest Career and Technical Education Centers (CTEC) in the nation at the Prescott airport. It was opened in 2007 and has continued to grow since then. Unfortunately, the East side of the County has been ignored.

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