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

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, October 28th, 2017

McCarver says Community College educational facilities and opportunities will “never be equal on the west and east sides of the County;” McCasland fights for Verde; Harris mum

Second District Representative Deb McCasland raised the question of adequate access to Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities and the absence of CTE facilities in the Verde Valley at the October 24 District Governing Board meeting in Prescott.  West County Representative Chair Ray Sigafoos said that he was prepared to support a $5 million-dollar 30,000 square foot or 40,000 square foot facility on the East side if a proposal came over the mountain to him and the Board.

Sigafoos conceded that the College does not “have an adequate single JTED facility in the Verde Valley.”  However, he blamed the former Verde Valley JTED for not providing the Board with that opportunity.  He said that there has not been a “stable [CTE] organization in the Verde Valley” or a building the College could afford until the last year or so. He claimed that he had not “ignored” the Verde Valley.

West County Representative Pat McCarver seemed somewhat less enthusiastic about CTE on the East side of the County than Sigafoos.  She blamed the prior JTED Administration for the current situation saying it was not possible until now to consider building a centralized CTE facility on the East side of the County.  She also stated that from her perspective that educational facilities and opportunities will “never be equal” on both sides of the County.

Representative McCasland continued her consistent theme of supporting the development of adequate Career and Technical Education facilities and opportunities on the East side of the County.  Representative Connie Harris and West County representative Steve Irwin made no comment.

Sigafoos noted that the Board will begin discussing capital projects in January 2018. 

The discussion covered about three minutes and is provided in the following video in its entirety.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, VACTE, Verde Campus

SEDONA CENTER CULINARY HAS FORMAL NAME; SEEKS REGIONAL IDENTITY

By R. Oliphant
Friday, October 27th, 2017

Will effort fail like Film School because of lack of affordable student housing in the Verde Valley?

Yavapai Community College has an official name for its culinary program: The Sedona Culinary Institute of Yavapai College. It has enrolled 70 students in its first semester.

In an interview with Sedona Redrock News reporter Zachary Jernigan of 10 October, 2017 Institute instructor and acting director Jennifer Jackson said that the name was “deliberate.” She said she was “emphasizing regional identity and encouraging destination travelers.” She told Jernigan that ““We want people from out-of-state.”

Those of us who have watched the College for the past decade heard a similar message coming from the Internationally acclaimed Zaki Gordon Film school, which later became the Yavapai Film School. 

However, repeated pleas over a ten-year period from students and staff to find affordable housing for the film school students fell on deaf Prescott based Yavapai Community College Administrators. The obvious need for residence facilities was ignored by the three-member West County voting bloc on the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board. (Recall in December 2013 the West County voting bloc members said in a 4-1 vote that they were willing to close and sell the Sedona Center.)

Unless the Culinary Institute is to suffer the same fate as the Film school, the Community College must locate a residence hall on the Verde Campus or on land adjacent the Sedona Center.  Without it, ten years from now the College will once again be readying the Center for the auction block, just as it did back in 2013.

You may read all of Mr. Jernigan’s interview with Jennifer Johnson by clicking here.

Categories : Sedona Campus

YAVAPAI COLLEGE PRESCOTT CAMPUS BASED FAMILY ENRICHMENT CENTER CELEBRATES 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

By R. Oliphant
Friday, October 27th, 2017

No similar Yavapai College facility for students attending classes on the Verde Campus or at Sedona Center

The Yavapai College Family Enrichment Center celebrated its 10-year anniversary Wednesday, October 11, 2017, at an open house in the Del E. Webb FEC building on the Prescott Campus. The Center also celebrated the renewal of its five-star rating by Quality First, a voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System in Arizona. 

The Enrichment Center is a year-round program. It operates  Mondays through Fridays from 7:45 – 5:15 serving children 3 months to five years. Priority is given first to qualifying Yavapai Community College students and then to Community College employees. Any remaining spaces are offered to community children. It offers alternative full and part-time schedules.

The Center provides a setting for Yavapai College early childhood education students to develop the skills and competencies necessary for careers with young children. It acts as a resource and a model for the Prescott area.

There is no similar program on the Verde Campus or at the Sedona Center or anywhere else in the County.

Categories : Family Enrichment Center

COLLEGE RANKED 10TH IN U.S. FOR ONLINE GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, October 25th, 2017

College has a stunning 37.85% of students now taking all or some online courses 

The Onlinecolleges.com web site has ranked Yavapai College at number ten among the best colleges in the United States to earn an online general studies degree.  The web site used  “data provided by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), part of the National Center for Education Statistics, to create an overview of the best online colleges for general studies from all U.S. colleges.”

Factors that may have helped the College obtain the number ten rating includes its low reported tuition ($2,064) and high percentage of enrolled students taking online classes (37.85%).

You may view the online evaluation by clicking here.  Reproduced below is the summary shown on the Onlinecolleges.com web site that refers to Yavapai Community College.

Categories : Rankings

REGULAR GOVERNING BOARD MEETING TUESDAY OCTOBER 24 AT 1 P.M.

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, October 21st, 2017

Meeting to be  held at  Prescott Valley Center, 6955 Panther Path, Prescott Valley, AZ

The regular meeting of the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board will be held Tuesday, October 24 at 1 p.m.  The College has announced it will be held at the Prescott Valley Center, 6955 Panther Path, Prescott Valley, Arizona.  Look for signs that will guide you to the meeting room.

Citizens may address the Governing Board on any topic during the opening minutes of the Board meeting at the “Open Call.”  A citizen is given three minutes to make his or her presentation.  It is timed and the time limit is enforced.

Categories : Meeting Notice

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

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, October 21st, 2017

 

Ceremony at 11:00 a.m. at   Prescott Valley Center, 6955 Panther Path Prescott Valley, AZ 86314; five new Allied Health programs added to curriculum and partnership solidified with Mountain Institute JTED to use facility

There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony that celebrates the opening of  the newly renovated  Yavapai Community College Prescott Valley Allied Health Center. The event will occur at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 24.  The Center is located at 6955 Panther Path Prescott Valley, Arizona  86314. The ceremony is open to the public and will be followed by tours.  

The Community College has spent over $4 million in new construction and renovation on this project, most of which came from property taxes paid by all taxpayers in Yavapai County.  It has also partnered  with the West County Mountain Institute JTED to offer high school students courses at the Center.  The believes that this will jump-start in their health careers.  The Mountain Institute did not provide funding for the facilities or the equipment that was placed in those facilities.

The Community College also added five new allied health credits programs at the Center this year.  They are Phlebotomy, Nursing Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Medical Assistant and Health Information Technology. 

Community College and JTED students from the Mountain Institute will be using new fully-equipped medical assistant exam rooms, phlebotomy blood draw lab, hospital rooms and classrooms.

The College also offers non-credit Allied Health offerings are Caregiver and Certified Nursing Assistant Bridge to Caregiver Training.

The following are three of the many photos supplied the District Governing Board  in its September agenda. These photos show only a small part of the renovation at the Prescott Valley Center. You may view all the photos contained in the Governing Board agenda by clicking here.

Categories : Allied Health Campus, Construction, Prescott Valley Campus

PRESCOTT CAMPUS AMPHITHEATER GOING UP

By R. Oliphant
Friday, October 20th, 2017

College has so much primary property tax revenue that it can spend it on frivolous projects like this—beautiful but unjustified and  unnecessary—the revenue could be better spent on educational programs

Construction of the amphitheater on the Prescott Campus is moving ahead as scheduled.  Photos supplied to the District Governing Board in its October agenda show the progress being made. 

One has to question the wisdom of using County primary tax revenue for this project, which is nice but unnecessary.  It is the result of  the College having so much excess property tax revenue each year, it can spend it on projects like this without providing citizens any justification.  Moreover, there is never a priority assessment made by the Governing Board that weighs unnecessary projects like this against other potential educational projects throughout the County. Consequently, the Administration builds whatever it fancies with no accountability to anyone. 

Below are some of the photos provided the District Governing Board in the October Agenda. You may view all of them by clicking here.

Categories : Construction

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

By R. Oliphant
Friday, October 20th, 2017

County Attorney and Tim Carter remain mum when asked to explain the  basis for sudden revision of residency requirement that allowed Connie Harris to be appointed to College Governing Board;  Public left in the dark

The question being asked by citizens in Yavapai County of Yavapai County Attorney and Yavapai County School superintendent Tim Carter is this: “What was the basis for changing the long-standing residency eligibility requirement for  anyone seeking to sit on the College District Governing Board?”

Recall that for years the requirement was a one-year residency in the District. Applicant Connie Harris did not meet that residency requirement and the County Attorney and Carter changed it in December 2016.  Carter said the state statute setting out requirements to sit on  a school board did not apply.  However, he did not explain how the current requirements were reached.

In response to a request from the Blog for an explanation for the changed residency requirement, the Yavapai County Attorney claimed attorney/client privilege, saying the following:

“Thank you for contacting the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office. No. Any legal advice we may have given to an elected official is covered by the attorney/client privilege.
Penny Cramer, Administrative Assistant to:
Sheila Polk, Yavapai County Attorney
Dennis McGrane, Chief Deputy Yavapai County Attorney
255 E. Gurley Street
Prescott, AZ 86301” 

Here is the history of this issue. Recall that in the fall 2016 Mr. Carter posted an announcement of the opening on the Governing Board following the resignation of Mr. Al Filardo.  As originally posted, the requirements were stated as follows:

To be eligible to hold this seat a person must be a registered voter in Yavapai County, be a citizen of the United States of America, be at least 18 years of age, possess their civil rights, have continually resided within the school district for at least one year immediately preceding taking office, and the candidate or their spouse cannot be employed by the district. [You may view the original posting by clicking here.]

When it was learned that applicant Connie Harris did not meet the one-year residency requirement, Carter contacted the County Attorney.  According to Carter, he was advised by the County Attorney that there was no one-year residency requirement for the Board position. 

Carter stated in the announcement eliminating the residency requirement that “It has now come to Superintendent Carter’s attention, and has been verified by the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office, that this [residency] requirement only applies to `School District Governing Boards’ and NOT to `Community College Governing Boards’”. He stated, “I am the responsible party for the posting and apologize for this error. As a result, I feel it is my obligation to re-post this position, so no resident is disenfranchised in any way. The integrity and fairness of the ultimate appointment is critical.” [You may view the revised posting by clicking here.]

The revised residency criteria then read:

To be eligible to hold the seat, a person must be a registered voter in Yavapai College District 3, a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age and possess their civil rights. The candidate and spouse may not be employed by Yavapai College.  You may view the revised posting by clicking here. 

The problem is that neither the County Attorney nor Mr. Carter will explain the statutory basis for the revised criteria, if one exists.  How was this revised criteria reached?  As noted above, the County Attorney refuses to disclose the criteria claiming attorney/client privilege.  Mr. Carter has not responded to an email request for an explanation.

So, citizens in the County can only guess at how the revised criteria was arrived at. Why won’t the County public officials thoroughly explain the basis for the sudden change?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Categories : District Governing Board

PRESCOTT CAMPUS RENOVATION/NEW CONSTRUCTION CHARGING AHEAD

By R. Oliphant
Sunday, October 15th, 2017

Primary property tax rate increases and tuition hikes provide millions for capital projects with little citizen accountability or justification

The Yavapai Community College building boom supported by primary property tax revenue and increased student tuition continues throughout the District with the west side of the County spending millions in renovations, new parking lots, and new construction.  Since 2013, when the District Governing Board approved the $103.5 million dollar capital development plan in concept (with less than 5% going to the Verde Valley/Sedona), construction and renovation has been nonstop. This is especially true on the West side of the County. Note, however, that it has spent from $4 to $5 million over the past three years in Sedona trying to fix its public relations nightmare with that community. It has reopened the Sedona Center with a culinary institute that replaces the internationally recognized film school it shut down when it was contemplating selling the Center.

While there have been some changes to the 2013 $103.5 million capital development plan, the changes have not affected the flow of property tax revenue coming to the College that the administration uses for these projects. The changes have had little affect on West County development other than reducing the huge size of potential construction at the Prescott Valley Allied Health/JTED facility.

Recall that the College Administration has increased tuition every year in some form and the property tax rate was raised by the District Governing Board in six of the last twelve years to accumulate the cash to support the building projects.  In addition, the College has been over budgeting so that annually excess unspent general fund revenue is transferred into the capital building fund accounts.  Finally, recall that under the Administration’s revenue budgeting scheme, its expenditure plan allows it to spend from $6 to $8 million each year of primary property tax revenue on capital projects. 

What most County citizens don’t know is that the College administration does not need to justify to County voters or seek their approval for the massive construction/renovation projects it is using their primary property tax revenue to pay for.  In the distant past, the College had to seek General Obligation Bond approval from voters before embarking on capital projects. When seeking the bonds, the Administration had to  justify the expenditure of the millions of dollars and imposition of a secondary property tax to pay for them. Because of the budgetary scheme the Administration created,  that kind of accountability to voters no longer exists. (All the Administration needs is to persuade the highly political Governing Board three west county representatives to vote for the annual budget and the  spending spree continues. This group has  approved every request from the College since at least 2012.) 

Below are photos of some of the current construction/renovation involving buildings #1 & 15 and a sketch of a new atrium under construction on the Prescott Campus. They appear in the September Board meeting Agenda. Estimates are the College is spending from $5 to $6 million alone on these projects.  

 

 

 

Categories : Construction, Prescott Campus

CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CENTER TRUCK USED TO PROMOTE STEM PROGRAMS

By R. Oliphant
Sunday, October 15th, 2017

Funds for “wrap” project obtained from two grants

Dean John Morgan provided the District Governing Board at its September 2017 meeting with photos of a “new wrap” on the Career and Technical Education Center’s diesel truck used to promote “STEM” programs at Yavapai Community College. “STEM” is an acronym for  “science, technology, engineering, and math.  CTEC is located at the Prescott airport.

The National Foundation and the Arizona Science Foundation provided the funding for the “new wrap” project.  The photos as contained in the agenda for the meeting appear below.

Categories : Career and Technical Education
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