Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee recommends stepping-up marketing and recruiting

By R. Oliphant
Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

Rejection of two recommendations by Governing Board (3-2) doesn’t damper VVBAC enthusiam

Despite the rejection of two of the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee’s most important recommendations at the last Governing Board meeting, the Committee is moving enthusiastically ahead.  One June 9, the Governing Board by a 3-2 vote rejected the Committee’s recommendations that there not be any additional property tax increase at this time and that movement on the ten-year-development plan be delayed until there was a strategic plan that included Sedona and the Verde Valley.

Paul Chav

Paul Chevalier

The Committee at its July 1 meeting focused on improved marketing of Yavapai Community College on the East side of the County.  The Committee Chair,  Paul Chevalier, stated that the College needed  to “engage students early-on” if it was to attract students to the Community College.  The Committee agreed that it would ask the Governing Board for a specific response to its marketing and recruitment recommendation.

The Committee also discussed improving communication with the residents of the East side of the County through Town meetings or similar gatherings.  No date was set for the first such effort.

A story in the Verde Valley Independent regarding the meeting can be read by clicking here.

 

Categories : Advisory Committees

Blog obtains Allied Health action plan

By R. Oliphant
Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

March 26 meeting results in action plan for Allied Health program

Thanks to Board Chair Pat McCarver the Blog has received the action plan for developing the Allied Health program on the West side of the County.  It was developed at the March 26 meeting that the Blog’s video reporter was not allowed to attend. The following is the document received by the Blog.  Those interested in locating a portion or all of the Allied Health program in Camp Verde and/or on the Verde campus in Clarkdale should review this document.

2015 Action Summary plam for allied health program

 

Categories : Allied Health Campus

College seeks more revenue by taxing high schools for dual enrollment courses

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, July 2nd, 2015

Insatiable appetite for revenue driving College to put a high school student per credit tax on cash strapped high schools in the County

By now, everyone in the County is aware that the current crop of Community College administrators has an insatiable appetite for more and more money to finance building projects in Prescott without interference from County residents. To that end, the unelected College administrators have repeatedly threatened at Board meetings throughout the year to lay a per credit tax on the already cash strapped high schools for students who are participating in the Dual Enrollment program. With its most recent letter to superintendents on this subject, the College began its political ploy to get its hands on more revenue by asking how much superintendents were willing to pay. Here on the left is a copy of the letter with misinformation about costs to the College in it.

DUAL ENROLLMENT LETTER TO SUPERINTENDENTS

 

Why does the Blog say the information going to the County superintendents is misleading? Because in May 2013 the information they provided the Governing Board is much different than the information they sent to the Superintendents. Here immediately below is the 2013 revenue slide: 

DUAL ENROLL BUDGET MAY 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The costs for instruction that are already paid by the high schools include: Classroom space, heat/air conditioning, electricity, desks, technology, and teacher. In comparison, the expenses to the college are minimal and easily paid for by property taxes already collected from County taxpayers.

It is simply unfair to force high school districts to use taxpayer money to pay the College, which is already gobbling up taxpayer money for this project. The students don’t even set foot on a college campus. Most of the students are County residents and most of their parents already pay property taxes to support the College, which spends millions on buildings rather than supporting projects like the dual enrollment program.

Dual enrollment is skyrocketing in the County and all the current crop of College administrators see are dollar signs and a way to grab that revenue. Here are enrollment figures the College provided the Governing Board back in May, 2013 that support the Blog’s points:

 

DUAL ENROLLMENT AND JTED COURSES 2 WITH CIRCLES

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories : Dual enrollment

Who is VP Scott Farnsworth?

By R. Oliphant
Monday, June 29th, 2015

Who is Scott Farnsworth, Dean of Science, Health, and Public Service; the Interim Vice President to replace Provost and Vice President for Instruction and Student Development, Stuart Blacklaw?

• A Prescott resident and native.

• As Dean of the Sciences, Health and Public Safety Division, he presides over a wide variety of programs and courses from Allied Health to Zumba.

scott farnsworth

Vice President Farmsworth

• He was selected in April 2008 as the Director of Athletics, Health, Physical Education and Recreation. He has 25 years of varied experience in Athletics and HPER.

• He has been elected twice as Faculty Association President for Yavapai College. He has also served as chairman of Arizona’s Athletic Training Regulatory Board, as well as both president and vice president of the Arizona Athletic Trainers Association. Instruction for the Professional Development of Physical Educators.

• He joined the HPER staff at Yavapai College in 1987. He teaches a variety of courses for the department, many of them related to the professional development of physical educators, as well as outdoor recreation.

•As Yavapai College’s first full-time athletic trainer, VP Farnsworth is viewed as instrumental in the success Yavapai College Athletics, which have experienced 8 National Championships in three different sports.

• In 2000 he participated at the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia as a member of the Medical Staff for the United States team. He followed up by serving as a volunteer for the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

• He received his B.S., from Brigham Young University in Physical Education and his M.S., from the University of Arizona in Exercise and Sport Science.

According to reliable sources, he cannot be a candidate for the permanent Vice President position.

 

 

Categories : Admnistrative turnover

Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee

By R. Oliphant
Monday, June 29th, 2015

Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee Meetings for July

Wednesday, July 1, 2015 8:30 a.m.
• Verde Valley Campus
• 601 Black Hills Drive
• Clarkdale, AZ

Meeting 2

MEETING NOTICES

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 8:30 a.m.
• Verde Valley Campus
• 601 Black Hills Drive
• Clarkdale, AZ

For updates and the agenda when it is posted, please click here.

Categories : Advisory Committees

Sedona Redrock News responds sharply to Wills’ effort to blame paper should shakey deal collapse

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Larson Newspapers Managing Editor editorial blasts Wills’ comments at June 9 District Board meeting

The Managing Editor of the Sedona Red Rock News, Christopher Fox Graham, blasted Dr. Penelope Wills for her comments about the newspaper, its editorials, and cartoons in the June 24 issue of the Sedona Red Rock News. In her update to the Yavapai College board at its June 9 meeting, Penelope Wills blamed Larson Newspapers for the potential loss of the $4.5 million DK Ranch land donation in the Verde Valley.  She cited a cartoon and an editorial without naming the newspaper, which was obviously the Sedona Red Rock News.

Christopher Fox Graham

Christopher Fox Graham

In his editorial response to the Wills’ accusations, Mr. Graham wrote that Wills’ incorrectly stated to the Board that the News had “submitted what I consider a very inappropriate cartoon and an editorial . . ..” He stated that “In fact the News did not submit anything to Steele Foundation or the land broker.”

On Wills’ failure to identify the News when speaking to the Board, Mr. Graham wrote that “she would at least have mentioned our newspaper by name. Since she apparently spends so little time on this side of Mingus Mountain and even less so thinking about the value of Verde Valley taxpayers, I’m not surprised she doesn’t know the names of any Verde Valley publications, though we’re flattered she knows our impact in the community.”

Mr. Graham also stated that “There have been dozens of letters to the editor from you, our loyal readers, condemning the college’s behavior and its 10-Year Plan. I have not seen one letter advocating the college collect our $12 million per year while only returning a fraction of that in capital improvements over the next decade. Nor have any suggested dumping our tax money on a new college campus in the vacant Prescott Valley area is a good idea. None have applauded the college for slashing Verde Valley education programs like the climax of a samurai film.”

There is much more. The entire editorial written by Mr. Graham can be accessed and read by clicking here.

Categories : Editorials/Essays

Chaos reigns? VP for Instruction and Student Development leaving after mere 18 months

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Wills’ attempts to keep Blacklaw’s departure silent as long as possible–Was Governing Board informed before they voted to increase Wills’ salary?

For the past several days, the Blog has been attempting to verify rumors coming from various sources that Provost and Vice President for Instruction and Student Development, Stuart Blacklaw, was abandoning the Prescott administration. Requests to the President’s office to deny or confirm that he was leaving went unanswered. Requests directly to VP Blacklaw to confirm or deny he was leaving likewise went unanswered.

However, several reliable independent sources outside the administration confirmed that he is leaving by late July for a position in Pennsylvania. An announcement by the College was finally made yesterday on its web page (click here to read its announcement). It is clear that the administration’s refusal to respond to the Blog’s request for confirmation of his departure over  the last six days was some kind of effort to keep the decision from the public as long as possible. That effort ended yesterday. 

Stuart Blacklaw

Dr. Stuart Blacklaw

Blacklaw was hired November 1, 2013 and lasted a mere 18 months. He replaced Dr. Greg Gillespie, who left the Wills’ administration to accept a job as president of Ventura Community College in Ventura, California. Blacklaw was made a provost earlier this year by Wills.

Scott Farnsworth, Dean of Science, Health, and Public Service, is taking over Blacklaw’s role as the Interim Vice President. Dr. Blacklaw leaves for Pennsylvania in late July and Dean Farnsworth begins as interim VP July 20 and will continue in that post through the fall term. Reliable sources also inform the blog that Dr. Farnsworth cannot be an applicant for the permanent position. The search to replace Blacklaw is to begin in September.

It is not clear whether Dr. Penelope Wills knew of Blacklaw’s decision to abandon the College at the time the District Governing Board reviewed her work as president on June 9. It is clear that not a word of his pending departure appears in the record of that meeting.

 

 

Categories : Admnistrative turnover
Tags :

Al Filardo fights for Verde Valley

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, June 24th, 2015

Third District Yavapai College Board member fails with logic and common sense to stop the three Board members from the West side of Mingus from increasing property taxes

Al Filardo 2Third District Community College Al Filardo presented compelling reasons in opposition to a 2% increase in the County property tax at the June 9 District Governing Board meeting. Unfortunately, the three members on the West (Prescott) side of the Mountain rejected his carefully thought out position. Among the reasons Filardo opposed an increased property tax were the following:

• Inflation remains flat.
• Enrollment at the Community College is down.
• The economy has not fully returned from the recession.
• The Community College is sitting on huge cash reserves.
• There is no plan—before you spend public money you should have a strategic plan that supports the spending.
• Without a strategic plan, there is no basis for increasing revenue.
• The College ten-year-plan is not in any way shape or form a strategic plan.
• There should be no rush to increase taxes—a one year delay will allow the College to unroll its strategic plan and match spending to planning.

Mr. Filardo’s effort to persuade the five member Governing Board may be viewed by clicking here.

 

Categories : Taxes

Renaming College

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, June 24th, 2015

Letter to editor suggests renaming Community College to “King George College”

Cottonwood resident Beatrice Keeber suggests that the Community College be renamed “King George College.”  She says that it would be a more fitting name and asks: “Is it time for Verde Valley to rise up as did the colonists in 1775? Is there another way for this entire valley to be heard in Prescott?” King George Crown

Her letter to the editor in the Verde Independent where she made this suggestion may be read in its entirety by clicking here.

 

Categories : Politics

15 Scholarships awarded by Foundation

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, June 24th, 2015

 Yavapai College Foundation and Yavapai College providing scholarships to 15 recent Yavapai County high school graduates who will attend Yavapai College in the fall–4 from the Verde Valley

The recipients are from schools throughout the county. The YCF scholarships are funded by private donations from Foundation members and the community at large. These Yavapai College scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement and financial need.

ScholarshipThis fall’s YCF/YC scholarship recipients are:

Jose Acosta, Ashfork HS, College Honors Program Scholarship; Justin Jimenez, Ashfork HS, Miller Family Scholarship; Jarett Cain, Bradshaw Mountain HS, Education Now Scholarship; Amber Farlee, Bradshaw Mountain HS, Student Leadership Council Scholarship; Janeth Lopez, Bradshaw Mountain HS, Douglas McClouth Scholarship; Alejandro Vasquez, Bradshaw Mountain HS, Russell Scholarship; Briana Geter, Camp Verde HS, Verde Valley Scholarship; Bodie Holowell, Camp Verde HS, Verde Valley Scholarship; Amberly Jarrard, Camp Verde HS, College Honors Program; Tayler Rezzonico, Camp Verde HS, Verde Valley Scholarship; Hannah Sanders, Chino Valley HS, Eugene Scott Scholarship; Dalen Warburton, Mayer HS, Arthur Nagel Scholarship; Makenna Newnum, Prescott HS, Susie Webb Scholarship; Kyli Skinner, Prescott HS, Casey & Del Decil Scholarship; and Jonathan Sahagun, Tri City Prep, Wells Fargo Scholarship and Yavapai County Chiropractic Scholarship.

Categories : Academic awards
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