Chevalier dissents saying the risk for persons like him is too great to attend in-person meeting; 90% chance he would die if he gets Covid-19 and participation by him alone on zoom places him at a disadvantage
The Yavapai Community College Governing Board spent fifteen minutes discussing the merits of holding a hybrid meeting in January 2021 rather than continue as it has for several months with all members on zoom. Third District Representative Paul Chevalier argued that with Covid cases increasing, the risk of transmission was too great if the Board held a face-to-face meeting. Moreover, according to him, the benefits of a face-to-face meeting could not outweigh the danger of the older members of the Board being infected. He said in arguing that the meetings remain all zoom that “in fairness to everyone and to help save my life, … if [I get Covid] there’s a 90 percent chance that . . . [I] will die.”
Governing Board Chair Deb McCasland led the arguments for holding the meeting face-to-face with a zoom option for those who considered a face-to-face meeting too risky. She was joined in a 3-1 vote to hold a hybrid meeting in January by Board members Ray Sigafoos and Mitch Padilla. Dr. Pat McCarver, whose spouse is a local physician, said little during the discussion and abstained from the final vote.
You may view the fifteen minute discussion where members asserted the pros and cons of such a meeting on the video clip below.