Public being kept totally in the dark about location, purpose or amount of taxpayer funds being used to purchase these properties
Yavapai Community College has gone into the land purchasing business in a big way during the last few weeks. Recall that on February 24, 2023, the College District Governing Board held a two-hour closed door executive meeting focusing on purchasing land in Prescott Valley and leasing land in the Verde Valley. Following the session, the Board issued a vague statement in the form of a motion, unanimously approved, directly the staff to move as directed in the closed door session. The public was left in total darkness about what was happening.
Now, a little over a month later, the College is again looking to purchase more land, this time in Prescott. Like the February meeting, the public received no information about the Prescott purchase at this April meeting. It was again left in the dark.
So far, the Prescott-based executions have kept quiet about the amount of taxpayer money to purchase the Prescott Valley property, where it is located, or its precise purchase. It also has yet to learn what property the Community College is leasing in the Verde Valley, the amount of taxpayer money being used to pay for the lease, or the purpose. Likewise, the public has no information about the Prescott land purchase either.
It would appear that all of the new land will mostly be paid for by County taxpayers from their primary property taxes.
Most of the proposed increase in the present budget was to cover a 9.4 percent increase in employee salaries and benefits plus a 102.2 percent increase in capital expenditures over 2022-23. 
including a demand that the Community College provide an annual accounting to the Third District about the exact amount of revenue it provides the Community College through the District’s contribution via state and federal revenue, County primary taxes, secondary property taxes, and new construction taxes. It has only vaguely and very reluctantly provided some partial information. In addition, the District Representatives have asked the College to provide an estimate of the tuition and government grants it receives because of the enrolled students in Sedona and the Verde Valley. It has received no information about that. And then, an understandable detailed financial explanation of what revenue received was reinvested in the Third District.
Yavapai Community College indicated at the March 2023 District Governing Board meeting that it will be seeking a 5% primary property tax rate increase in May of 2023. It will most likely argue that it needs more operating revenue, and the only available source appears at present to be Yavapai County residents’ primary property taxes. 
Once she was established and familiar with the Community College, President Dr. Lisa Rhine instituted major changes in the Athletic Department’s culture by creating specific written goals for coaches to meet, including goals for fundraising, recruiting, community participation, and “team goals.” For the first time in its 50-year history, the College directed the coaches to focus more heavily on recruiting outstanding Yavapai County student athletes, with a goal of each team being 
made up of about 25% student athletes from the County.
Governing Board Chair Deb McCasland in the September 7, 2022, Verde Independent newspaper, the coaches left because they refused to accept new recruiting and scholarship guidelines instituted by the college. 
District, have raised concerns about the College’s lack of focus on recruiting outstanding local athletes. They also expressed concern about the college’s practice of providing generous taxpayer-funded scholarships to out-of-state and international athletes, while rosters often included few or no local athletes.
five years ago “to focus more attention on recruiting local student athletes (county/state).” A “mandate” was instituted “that required 25% of all student athletes recruited had to be from local high schools,” she said. Furthermore, the coaches were told “that the support for out-of-state and international students will decrease as we increased the scholarship support for local 
student-athletes.” “Those three coaches who decided to leave the college ignored those mandates,” wrote McCasland.
Assistant coach Miles Kizer also announced his resignation from Yavapai College at the same time. Then, in August 2022, the Athletic Department announced the resignation of Doug Eastman as the Head Coach of the Yavapai College softball team. Eastman won 343 games, making him the winningest softball coach in program history. His 300th win at 
Yavapai Community College (also the 800th of his career) came during the 2022 season.
The College hired replacements for the coaches who left an faced issues such as rebuilding a program and quickly recruiting athletes for it. It appeared from the October 2022 presentation to the Governing Board that it was relatively successful in its efforts.
