The Yavapai College Curriculum: Addition And Subtraction With An Emphasis On Division. Addition of resources for the Prescott and Prescott Valley campuses. Subtraction of leadership and courses for the Verde Valley campuses. And division between the taxpayers on the east and west sides of the county.
To discuss the situation, Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Paul Chevalier and Bob Oliphant, current and former members of the Yavapai College Governing Board.
Oliphant begins by explaining, “What we’re really talking about here is a $93 million corporation – a publicly taxpayer supported corporation, number one. Number two, it has a complex budget…a very, very challenging budget. You have this Governing Board that Paul’s on, it is a very weak Governing Board. It’s managed by a president. We pay her around $300,000 a year now. She’s the highest paid employee in the county. All major decisions are based in Prescott.”
As an example of the inequity between the two sides of the county, Chevalier notes that, with no explanation, the college removed a much-needed 10,000 sq. ft. expansion of the Verde campus’ CTE building from the five-year plan and added a $10 million beer brewery. “I said: What’s the need for this? No answer. Second question is: How are you going to spend the $10 million and use the 14,000 sq. ft.? No answer.”
“They don’t want to be transparent,” says Chevalier. “They do not want anybody in the public to know how they’re going to spend this $10 million. The president refused to answer my questions. And the chairman of the Board wrote me and said it’s none of my business.”
Keep in mind that he is an elected member of the Governing Board!
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