Retired school superintendent wants taxes paid for Community College in Verde Valley to remain there
Retired Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District superintendent, Mrs. Julie Larson, expressed the views of most residents in the Verde Valley in an editorial in the May 27 Verde Independent. She stated she opposed the 2% property tax increase that will be voted on June 9 by the Yavapai College District Governing Board and wanted property taxes paid by Valley residents to remain in the Valley.
Larson wrote: “Sadly, the direction Yavapai College has taken in recent years has caused me to agree with a growing number of our community members that it is now time to take control over how our property taxes are utilized.”
She continued: “Yavapai College is not held to the same financial restrictions that our local schools experience. The governing board of the college can simply vote to increase property taxes rather going to the voters for approval. Against the recommendation of the Verde Valley Advisory Committee, it now appears that the college board will follow administration’s recommendation to increase the property taxes by 2 percent. This is the sixth time in the last 10 years that property taxes for the community college have been increased. It also comes on the heels of a 4-percent tuition hike approved in February.”
Mrs. Larson’s complete editorial in the Verde Independent can be found by clicking here.
While the College was not spending a hundred thousand dollars on Red Rocks High School, that part of the statement regarding no one is paying for dual education was mostly true. In fact, the College pays a high school teacher who simultaneously teaches a class for the College and the high school at the high school, a small stipend. The stipend, of course, most likely comes from taxpayer property tax revenue. The dual enrollment program is one of the most cost-effective programs in the College’s arsenal of learning.
So far, Blog requests for those minutes have been unsuccessful. Here is the last response from the Community College dated May 11, 2015:
Deb McCasland is most outspoken in opposition to the tax increase; Al Filardo seems to be sitting on the fence, and Steve Irwin is quiet about his intentions. The Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee has unanimous said it opposes a tax increase at this time.
The formal Board decision was made possible only because of the tireless efforts of outraged Sedona citizens and others, who protested the action repeatedly to the Board over the past year, the Sedona City Council, the former and present Sedona Mayors, and the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee. 
Good morning Madame Chair, members of the Governing Board, and Madame President.
State support accounts for 2% of the total College budget. County property taxes and student tuition and fees account for the bulk of revenue coming to the College each year.
The Forum will be held at the Cliff Castle Conference Center, beginning Sunday evening, April 3, 2016, with the kickoff dinner and keynote speaker. Panel discussions will convene mornings and afternoons of April 4 and 5, with the final plenary session in the morning on April 6.