Vice President Clint Ewell comments on moving funds during June 2, 2023, interview with Sedona Red Rock News; question remains what was meant by the use of “to other schools”
Due to its strict operational confidentiality policy, determining the exact allocation and utilization of the funds for the 10.6 adjunct positions that were removed from the budget of Yavapai Community College’s Verde Campus in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, and purportedly reassigned to “other schools,” has posed significant challenges. However, the Blog has managed to uncover some information thus far.
Dr. Clint Ewell, Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services, addressed the issue of reduced teaching staff at the Verde Campus during an interview with the Sedona Red Rock News. The newspaper’s front-page article on June 2, 2023, which discussed the increase in property tax rates, featured Dr. Ewell’s explanation.
As a reminder, the Blog initially disclosed in its April 21, 2023, post the perception that a significant reduction of 10.6 teaching staff positions at the Verde Valley Campus was evident in the College’s 2023-2024 budget, based on a public discussion between Dr. Ewell and Community College Governing Board member Ray Sigafoos.
The issue was brought up during the April 11 Governing Board meeting in a discussion between Ewell and Governing Board member Ray Sigafoos. Sigafoos sought clarification regarding a reduction that seemed to be indicated by a chart provided by the College (refer to the chart below). Based on the discussion, many observers came to the consensus that it was reasonable to assume that 10.6 positions had been eliminated at the Verde Campus. (Click here to view that discussion.)
However, in response to the Blog story concerning the reduction, Dr. Lisa Rhine made an effort to address any potential misunderstandings. During the District Governing Board and Tax and Budget hearing on May 16, 2023, she provided a brief statement emphasizing that there had been no reduction in faculty at the Verde Campus. Dr. Rhine clarified that the funds were instead transferred to the budget allocated for the dean or deans. (Click here to see the video clip of Dr. Rhine making this statement.)
In a recent article published on June 2, 2023, in the Sedona Red Rock News, Dr. Ewell provided his explanation regarding the 10.6 adjunct faculty reductions. He is quoted as follows:
“We had budgeted for some adjunct faculty in the vice president of academic affairs, which also includes Verde Valley campus administration. What we decided to do is move some of the adjunct faculty budget out to the different schools within the college, where the assets are actually being used. When you look at that table and our budget, it looks like vice president of academic affairs, the number of positions went down 10. But in reality, those 10 positions were simply moved to other schools within academic affairs.”
Despite the provided explanations, some lingering questions remain. Firstly, it is unclear how many adjunct faculty were teaching on the Verde Campus in 2021 and 2022, and whether that number has decreased. Secondly, when Dr. Ewell mentions moving funds to “other schools,” it is uncertain whether he is referring to schools located specifically on the Verde Campus or elsewhere. Thirdly, upon careful examination of the table that supposedly demonstrates a reduction of 10.6 adjunct positions on the Verde Campus, it also indicates that 9.8 positions were added to the school of business, 2.4 to the school of health and wellness, and 1.3 to instructional support (resulting in a sum of 9.8 + 2.4 + 1.3 = 13.5). Furthermore, the table suggests an overall increase of 21.5 positions across various schools (10.6 + 8.6 + 1.5 + 0.7 + 0.1 = 21.5). However, this would seemingly leave a net reduction of eight positions overall (21.5 – 13.5 = 8). Please refer to the table below, highlighting the schools and Verde Campus in yellow.
Without a public records request and the College’s willingness to respond to it, it seems that residents of the County may never obtain the complete story behind this fund reallocation. The transparency and cooperation of the College are crucial factors in shedding light on the matter, but even then, the full details might not be readily accessible to the public.
