Unsubstantiated suspicion and rumors are floating around the County regarding an alleged effort to hide some conversations from County residents that occurred during the January 16 meeting
It is now over a week (Thursday, January 25, 2024, noon) and the District Governing Board has yet to provide the public with a draft of the minutes of its January 16 workshop. Neither a written draft nor the video of the meeting has been posted.
It is noteworthy that the video of the workshop wasn’t released shortly after the meeting, which is a deviation from the standard practice established over the last decade. The practice was put in place to comply with Arizona’s Open Meeting Law three-day posting rule.
Speculations arose shortly after the January 16 meeting, fueled by unsubstantiated rumors about certain conversations that allegedly occurred during the meeting, which the Board might prefer to keep from the county residents. These rumors were compounded by the unusual decision not to post the unedited video of the meeting.
The validity of these rumors remains uncertain. There are questions about whether the Board and the College are apprehensive about what the residents might learn from the video. The absence of an unedited, uncut version of the meeting video leaves a great deal of room for speculation.
Under Arizona’s open meeting law, the minutes or a recording of a meeting shall be available for public inspection three working days after the meeting. However, as of Thursday, January 25, 2024, there has not been a post of the draft minutes in writing or via the videotape of the District Governing Board meeting that occurred Tuesday, January 16.
Yavapai Community College is currently considering the addition of two more four-year degree programs to its academic offerings. Although these plans are in the very early stages, the college is seriously exploring the possibility of offering a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
The report was later featured in a press release from the Community College dated January 10, 2024. According to Lightcast’s report, it found that Yavapai College added a total of $203.7 million in income to the County economy during that time. That figure includes the Community College’s multiple roles as major employer – with payroll and operational expenditures – and local investor ($1.3 million in construction investments), as well as the impact of Yavapai’s Community College students spending locally ($10.2 million) and Yavapai Community College’s-trained personnel in the workforce ($149.2 million). The combined value is equal to approximately 2.2% of Yavapai County’s gross regional product (GRP).
The Yavapai County Community College District Governing Board will hold what is described as a “Policy and Attorney Education Workshop” at the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. The Career and Technical Education Center is located on the Prescott airport at 220 Ruger Road, Prescott, AZ 86301. The agenda suggests that the event will last approximately four hours or more.
Uncertainties Surrounding the Project: The Tiny Home Project, which involves students constructing miniscule houses intended for rent by staff, faculty, and students, still has several unresolved issues. Key questions include the final location of these homes and the total number that the College plans to eventually construct. While it is believed there will be six or seven homes located at the Chino Valley Center, it is not all that clear based on the information provided the District Governing Board from October 2022 to November 2023.
