Yavapai Community College has scheduled an Alumni Reunion Weekend from September 23 to September 25. One event has been scheduled for the Verde Valley Campus, which will be held September 23. That event is scheduled for 4:30 and is called a “Happy House/Mixer.”
Yavapai Community College will hold an open house at its Sedona Center on Wednesday, September 28 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Center is located at 4215 Arts Village Drive, Sedona, Arizona 86336. The open house is designed for high school students, parents, working adults, and those interested in attending the Community College.
This is an opportunity to tour the facility and meet College faculty and OLLI ambassadors, all while sampling pastries prepared by the Culinary Arts students and faculty. Persons may also register for College credit and OLLI classes during the open house.
The saga of Yavapai Community College Third District Governing Board representative Paul Chevalier’s quest to obtain data supporting the College’s administrators decision to use $10 million to construct a commercial brewery/distiller somewhere in the Sedona/Verde Valley area continues. Recall that the Administration, with support from the Governing Board Chair, refused Mr. Chevalier’s request for more information following the May meeting where the Board 4-1 (Chevalier dissented) approved the concept.
Third District Yavapai Community College Representative to the Governing Board Mr. Paul Chevalier
Because he had run up against a solid wall when he sought more information following the May meeting, Mr. Chevalier filed a formal request for public documents as allowed by Arizona law with the Community College. In response the College said it would cost him $2,500 to obtain the information and the information could not be provided for at least 90 days.
The College suggested he might reconsider his request. In a recent interview with the Blog, Mr. Chevalier said that he was revising and rewriting the request to make it much narrower. His apparent hope is that the public documents with data can be provided at much lower cost. As of the posting of this Blog story, Mr. Chevalier had not yet received a response from the Community College.
Recall that Chevalier is the elected representative to the College Governing Board from the Third District, which covers Sedona and a large portion of the Verde Valley. There are several major concerns associated with the decision by the Governing Board to approve this expenditure. As noted in the September 3 Blog post, Chevalier and others have received no hard data showing an actual need for such a facility. He and others have also not received hard data showing the potential number of graduates from such a program, the number who might be employed in the brewing industry after receiving a certificate or degree, or the estimated starting salaries of students with a certificate.
As also noted in the September 3 Blog story on Mr. Chevalier’s initial request, the Governing Board has not debated or even discussed the pros and cons of using $10 million or more for a commercial brewery project versus using the funds for expanding the small Skills Trade Center on the Verde Valley Campus with a goal of providing a wide variety of high-tech training opportunities to a large number of east County residents. Many of those graduates may enter the workforce following a certificate with a large starting salary.
From the Blog’s perspective, Chevalier’s gallant effort to obtain information via a public records request should not be necessary. It is hard to understand why a publicly taxpayer supported institution is providing such scarce information to the public and the public’s elected officials about spending $10 million or more in taxpayer money.
The Osher Lifelong Institute (OLLI) will hold a free brown bag program on the Verde Valley Campus on Tuesday, September 13, from 12:30 to 1:30. The program features Charles Blum whose topic is “Russia and Ukraine, The Ties that Bind.”
Yavapai Community College is offering to pay for childcare for some students as long as a number of restrictions are met, and the child is receiving care under a certified DES/DHS provider. The program is available as long as the College has funding for it.
There are several restrictions on the program. A student must be going full-time and must be enrolled in Nursing, Nursing Intent, Early Childhood Education, or K-12 education programs. A student’s income must be at or below 165% of the federal poverty level. A family of four must not make more than $43,700 per year.
For more information about the program and additional restrictions, an interested student should contact the Parent Cohort Success Coach: sarah.marescialto@yc.edu.
The Yavapai Community College Foundation announced in a press release August 31 that ten nursing students and two Radiology students had been awarded Community Healthcare Scholarships for 2022. Each student receives a full two-year scholarship in exchange for a commitment to graduate and share their newfound skills in Yavapai County. Yavapai Community College Director of Nursing Dr. Marylou Mercado said that the “full scholarship allows students to complete their nursing degree tuition debt-free. [The students] enter our community’s healthcare organizations, inspired and hopeful for a bright future.”
The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott is responsible for raising the funds that support the healthcare scholarships. It began the program in 2012.
The Jewish Community Foundation annually selects ten Nursing and two radiology students for the award. This year the nursing students receiving the award were: Ryan Allred, Leslie Bessert, Sarah C. Gregory, Jessica Guerrero, Samantha Imes, Taidyme Mae, Shannon Mitchell, Monet Newell, Jordan Rogers, and Anthony Rossano II. Radiology students Esmeralda Ruiz Alvidrez and Quinci Youngblood also each received a scholarship.
You may read about the award ceremony where the scholarships were handed out by clicking here and going to the Community College press release authored by Michael Grady.
In May 2022 the Yavapai Community College administration asked the Governing Board to approve expending $10 million on developing a commercial brewery/distiller somewhere on the east side of the County. The information provided the Governing Board was sparse. However, it did inform the Board that the brewery would be housed in a 14,000 square foot new building.
Despite having little information, the Governing Board approved the expenditure by a 4-1 vote. Third District Board representative Paul Chevalier dissented.
The approval came despite the fact the Board had received no hard data showing an actual need for such a facility. Or, hard data showing the potential number of graduates from such a program, the number who might be employed in the brewing industry after receiving a certificate or degree, or the estimated starting salaries of students with a certificate.
To make matters worse, the Governing Board had not debated or even discussed the pros and cons of using funds for a brewery versus using the funds for expanding the small Skills Trade Center with a goal of providing a wide variety of high-tech training opportunities to a large number of east County residents.
Representative Paul Chevalier made it clear at the meeting that he opposed the expenditure until he had more information justifying spending this much money for the project. (The College already has a small brewing lab in Building “G” on the Yavapai Campus and registration for the fall 2022 course offerings was not full.) His stated preference was to use the funds to expand hi-tech training programs where job opportunities are many and starting salaries high.
Following the May meeting, Chevalier made several attempts to obtain additional information about the expenditure from the Community College. However, the Community College shut the door on him, with approval from the Governing Board chair, at every turn. In frustration he submitted a Public Records Request to the Community College asking for details and data about the brewery project.
The College responding to his request by informing him that he will have to pay $2,500 for the information and it will take about 90 days to assemble it. Otherwise, he must find a way to reduce his request.
According to Mr. Chevalier, he is considering his options. As an elected official who is supposed to be able to fully inform his constituents of College programs and development, he is puzzled by the College’s sustained effort to keep so much data and information from him and his constituents.
Good morning, Mr. Chevalier,
In researching your recent Public Records Request form, we have identified 3700+ emails and mail with lengthy attachments. The total request is 10,000+ pages with a cost of $2,500.00 due before the documents are provided. Additionally, each email must be read, and any personal identifiers redacted so this will take some time to produce. We are estimating at least 90 days.
Would you prefer to tighten the scope of your Public Records Request form or proceed with your original Public Records Request form as written? If you choose the latter, please remit payment of $2,500.00. Once received, we will begin the process.
Essentially, all you need under Part 61 is to own or lease an aircraft and you can train free of most of the FAA’s prying eyes and high standards. Most exciting for the College administration was that it could begin to offer pilot training immediately if it only owned or leased a training aircraft. In fact, it offered pilot training with an agreement with a local Prescott flight school for a Cessna 172 just a week after the Board approved the tuition amount and had four students signed up, according to its online registration data.
The Blog was somewhat concerned when several web sites suggested that the FAA allows Part 141 schools to only give up to 25% credit (aka flight hours) to students transferring from Part 61 schools. However, the web sites also claimed the FAA also allows only up to 50% credit to be transferred between Part 141 schools.
Because these percentages appeared in several web postings, the Blog asked the Community College to investigate the amount of credit students completing its Part 61 program will receive if they transfer to any Part 141 training program in the United States. Or if they transfer to the commercial pilot training program also offered by the College.
In an initial response the College said the following:
[College’s initial response to Blog question]
“Our class is built with the 141 rigors, but we have been delayed by the FAA as far as approval to do part 141. We are on the FAA’s waiting list, and at some point, we anticipate approval for YC to offer part 141.
“In the meantime, we don’t have to have FAA approval for part 61 but can put the 141 rigor in what we teach to get students their private license –it is up to each school to determine how they deliver instruction under part 61.
“The FAA license is what would get them in the door at other schools, and they will get their private pilot license under the new course that we are offering.”
The College has said it is working on obtaining additional information.
It will probably come as a surprise to most readers of the Blog that after 50 years the Verde Campus in Clarkdale has lost its designation as a “branch campus” of Yavapai Community College. It will now be referred to as an “additional location” during required accreditation reviews.
This new designation for the Verde Campus, according to the College, will occur after the accreditation inspection scheduled for September of this year. The new designation appears to be a downgrading of its status and a loss of prestige.
According to the College, the shift in designation is a response to a change in the federal Department of Education code of regulations, which made the Verde Valley Campus ineligible to be classified as a branch campus. It must be considered an “additional campus” for accreditation purposes. The College President did not suggest in a note to Third District Representative Paul Chevalier in August what changes could be made on the Verde Campus that would return it to a more prestigious campus designation.
Critics may argue that the change adds a psychological arrow to the quiver of the Prescott based administration in its effort to keep control of the Verde Valley Campus from local residents. Lowering its prestige, goes this argument, may lower the value of the college in the eyes of local residents and consequently reduce their interest in seriously developing it. Critics may also argue that this sends a clear message to everyone in Yavapai County that the Prescott location is the only true campus in the County and, therefore, its most prestigious learning center.
With its new designation, the Verde Campus becomes an “additional location” with the same formal status as centers like Chino Valley, Prescott Valley and Sedona.
Kudos to Third District Representative Paul Chevalier who discovered this change and was willing to share Community College President Lisa Rhine’s note to him about it. The President’s response is reproduced unedited and in full below:
“1. In the past, the Verde Valley location was classified by our accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, as a “branch campus” in alignment with an old federal definition. In preparation for our visit and in consultation with our HLC Liaison, we learned that the Verde Valley location is not eligible to be classified as a ‘branch campus’ due to a change in the federal Department of Education code of regulations. At HLC’s advisement, the Verde Valley location’s classification is now accurately categorized as an “additional location” to ensure accurate reporting and accreditation compliance in alignment with the federal definition. We are free to call the location whatever we want and will continue to call it a “campus” and brand it as we would like. This year when HLC visits, they will visit the Verde Valley as part of the review since that is already arranged for September but, in the future, it will be visited on the regular HLC rotation with the other ‘additional location.’”
“Above from the President.”
Third District Representative to the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board, Paul Chevalier, has been an outspoken opponent of spending $10 million on developing a commercial brewing/distilling program to replace the existing program in the Verde Valley. (See fall registration below.)
During the May Governing Board meeting where the $10 million expenditure was approved 4-1, he argued the Community College should focus on using the money to develop a wide variety of high-tech training opportunities for Verde Valley students that may pay as much as $75,000 upon receiving a two-year certificate. He questioned whether a brewing program had the same potential. (Hear his arguments during the May Governing Board meeting by clicking here.)
Chevalier also raised the question of whether the College had conducted a sufficient needs assessment. One that would show that there is a significant need for a brewing/distilling program in the Verde Valley. There was no answer to this question at the May meeting.
Since the Governing Board meeting in May, Chevalier, who was interviewed by the Blog, says he has tried to obtain data from the Community College that would support using the money for a brewing program rather than a high-tech program. Specifically, data that would show a need for such training that would lead to high paying jobs for numbers of Verde Valley residents. However, his requests for data directed to the Community College have been rejected. The College administration’s refusal to provide such information has been supported by the Governing Board Chair.
In a last ditch attempt to obtain reliable data from the College, if it exists, Chevalier has turned to the Arizona Public Records law in an effort to obtain the information used by the College administration to make the $10 million recommendation to the Board. He is now awaiting a reply from the College to his Public Records request.
FALL 2022 ENROLLMENT IN VERDE CAMPUS BREWING PROGRAM
