No details were released regarding the exact nature of the embarrassing failure to activate the link

The Yavapai Community College Governing Board unexpectedly rescheduled its zoom meeting set for March 25 to March 26. The change occurred when Board member William Kiel informed the Board’s lawyer on the morning of March 25 that the electronic link to the Board agenda had not been activated on the Board’s website. Because the link was not properly activated, members of the public were unable to access the agenda at least 24 hours before the meeting, as required by law.

Arizona law mandates that Board agendas be made publicly available at least 24 hours prior to a meeting. However, the Board’s lawyer believed that  the March 25 meeting could have proceeded despite the web notification failure because paper copies of the time, place, and summary agenda were properly posted elsewhere. However, she advised the Board to reschedule the meeting to ensure that the public, particularly those relying on the website link, had an opportunity to review the agenda and the topics to be discussed at least 24 hours before the event.

The written explanation offered by the Board lawyer is set out below:

“The Governing Board’s legal counsel learned late on the morning of March 25, 2025 that the link on the College’s website to the District Governing Board’s March 25 meeting agenda was inadvertently not activated until the morning of March 25.  The agenda was posted more than 24 hours in advance, but the link was not made “live” at the time.  Therefore, members of the public attempting to access the meeting agenda from the College’s website could not do so at least 24 hours in advance.

“The College physically posted the meeting agenda more than 24 hours in advance of the March 25 , 2025 meeting.

“The Open Meeting Law allows a governing board to proceed with a public meeting if a ‘technological problem or failure’ prevents the posting of the agenda on the website 24 hours in advance, as long as the agenda was physically posted in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.  Although the March 25 District Governing Board meeting could therefore proceed despite the technological agenda posting issue, the Board has been advised to reschedule the meeting to ensure that the public receives adequate notice of the meeting.” 

Developmental projects  for the Verde Campus of over $20 million including major housing, creation of commercial driver training program, important brewing and distilling  project, and future EV hi-tech repair all scrapped despite recommendations from consultants and initial concept approval by Board

OPINION: According to data obtained from Yavapai Community College, the institution has spent over $2 million in consulting fees with SmithGroup, Inc. over the past three years. SmithGroup has been advising the college on capital development projects throughout the district.

Records indicate that the college paid SmithGroup consulting fees of  $364,907 in 2022, $399,738 in 2023, and $1,312,938 in 2024.

In its 2022 master plan, SmithGroup recommended a development strategy for the Verde Campus, which the Governing Board conceptually approved. The plan outlined approximately $20 million in proposed projects, including $9.25 million for student housing, $608,000 for a commercial driver training program, $8.04 million for expanding the fermentation program with craft brewing and distilling, $3.09 million for renovations to Building “M,” and $146,000 for acoustic upgrades to rooms at the Sedona Center.

However, several projects outlined in the plan for the Verde Campus have since been abandoned, including major student housing, the commercial driver training program, and the fermentation and distilling expansion. Additionally, an electric vehicle (EV) project proposed in 2022 as a possibility for the Verde Campus has also been scrapped.

Given these outcomes, Verde Valley residents may reasonably question whether local taxpayers should be footing the bill for much, if any, of the $2 million spent on consulting. Or does the responsibility for the lack of development and refusal to follow the recommendations  lie entirely with the controlling west side voting bloc on the District Governing Board?

Is Zoom being used by Yavapai Community College District Governing Chair as a convenient tool to control and cut off unwanted discussion?

OPINION: In a perplexing display of opacity, the chairperson of Yavapai Community College’s District Governing Board, Ms. Deb McCasland, has repeatedly insisted that unspecified “safety concerns” prevent the Community College’s District Governing Board from holding in-person public meetings. (For example, in-person public meeting on the Verde Campus once scheduled for this month.) Yet, despite weeks passing since announcing there were “safety concerns,” she refuses to elaborate on what these concerns entail or provide any evidence to substantiate them.

Meanwhile, the public sees no signs of any credible threat—no incidents, no warnings, and nothing to suggest that an in-person meeting would pose any risk beyond the ordinary. The absence of a clear explanation has only deepened skepticism, raising questions about whether these so-called safety concerns are legitimate.

This refusal to engage in transparency has left many wondering whether the claim of safety is  merely a convenient pretext to control meetings. By relying on Zoom, the chair can dictate the flow of discussion with a click of a button—muting dissent, cutting off Board members she does not favor, and silencing the public at will.

Moreover, instead of promoting open dialogue and accountability, this approach suggests that the Board’s leadership is more focused on controlling the narrative than fulfilling its responsibility to the community it was elected to serve.