The award recognizes her “significant contributions,” “demonstrated exceptional leadership” while presiding “over significant achievements” as Governing Board Chair

Yavapai Community College District Governing Board Chair Deb McCasland was named national trustee of the year April 4, 2023, by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) at its annual meeting in Denver, Colorado. Ms. McCasland is a Yavapai Community College almna  who has served on the District Governing Board for eight years, the last three as Chair. 

District Governing Board Chair Deb McCasland

She was nominated for the AACC Trustee of the Year award by Dr. David B. Borofsky, Director of the Arizona Association of Community College Trustees. The award celebrates a trustee who has made significant contributions to the college, demonstrated exceptional leadership, and presided over significant achievements that benefit the college, district, state, system, or foundation.

In his nomination letter, Borofsky lauded McCasland’s “amazing growth” as a leader, her tireless community engagement and statewide advocacy efforts, and her unmatched passion for student success. “She is THE trustee who is focused on student success,” Borofsky wrote.

“Chair McCasland avidly supports [Yavapai Community College,] its students, and our communities. She is a true leader, and her passion and dedication towards student success never waivers,” said Dr. Lisa Rhine, President of the College. “There is nobody more deserving of this award than Deb.”

In 1976, McCasland began her 34-year career at the College as the Yavapai Community College Student Activities Director. Among her many achievements before joining the Community College Governing Board were founding and developing the Community Events program and the Performing Arts Charitable Endowment. In 2010, she was chosen as an Outstanding Yavapai College alumnus. She retired from Yavapai Community College in 2011 as Director of Major Gifts  for the Community College Foundation. She has been elected three times to represent District Two on the Yavapai College District Governing Board.

The AACC is a non-profit advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges. It represents nearly 1,200 institutions and more than 11 million students. The Awards of Excellence reflect and advance the association’s priorities and spotlight “promising practices” among member colleges.

To learn more about YC, visit  http://ww.yc.edu.

Source:  Yavapai Community College press release of April 4, 2023, which you may view here: https://www.yc.edu/v6/news/2023/04/deborah.html

April disclosure, if it occurs,  follows February 24, 2023,  Board Executive meeting where Community College staff received secret direction regarding “affordable housing” and  potential purchase of real property in Yavapai County near Prescott Valley, and negotiations for potential lease of real property in Yavapai County near Verde Valley

Yavapai Community College has included in its draft capital improvement budget, unwrapped at the March 2023 Governing Board meeting, an expenditure of $3.4 million for “Workforce Housing.” At that meeting the Community College’s  Prescott-based executives were unable or unwilling to disclose precisely how the money would be used. 

The executives indicated at the March meeting that how the funds would be used would be disclosed at the April meeting, where a final Capital budget  would be produced.  To date, neither the public nor the Blog have any further information about this expenditure.

Please click here to take you to the Blog story about the Executive meeting in February 2023 where the statement by the Board was made regarding the directions to the staff about the property lease and purchase was made.

Took oath of office  Tuesday, March 21 at Governing Board meeting

Clarkdale’s Mr. Toby Payne was sworn in to fill the unexpired two-year term of Mr. Paul Chevalier at the Yavapai Community College District Governing Tuesday, March 21 Governing Board meeting in Sedona  by Yavapai County School Superintendent Mr. Tim Carter.

Payne, is a  resident of Clarkdale and was appointed to the District 3 seat vacated in January. District 3 consists of Big Park, Bridgeport 1 and 2, Clarkdale, Clemenceau, Coffee Pot, Cottonwood, Fir, Jacks Canyon, Jerome 1 and 2, Mingus, Orchard, Quail Springs, Red Rock 1 and 2, Red Rock East, Red Rock West, Verde Village, Western, and Wild Horse.   His term will run through 2024.

 Governing Board chair Deb McCasland welcomed Mr. Pay to the Governing Board.  She said that she was excited to welcome Toby Payne to our Board and believes he will be a great representative for our students and the communities in the Verde Valley and all of Yavapai County.”

You may find more information about Mr. Payne by clicking here and you will be taken to a Blog story about him.  You may also visit the press release about his appointment issued by the Community College of March 21, 2023 by clicking here

Representative Sigafoos lauds administrative staff for the improvement

It’s been a year or more since Representatives Ray Sigafoos and Paul Chevalier raised concerns about the incomplete minutes of the District Governing Board meetings.  The initial response to their concerns from some Governing Board members and others was that videotapes being made of a Board meeting were sufficient as a record and detailed written minutes were unnecessary.

Former Third District Representative Paul Chevalier

Representative Ray Sigafoos

The stripped down minutes had suddenly appeared months ago represented a significant change from more than a decade when detailed written minutes of Governing Board meetings were prepared. This was the case  even though for several past years the meetings were videotaped.

However, it became clear upon close inspection over a period of months that the videotape of Board meetings was sometimes less than complete.  Problems cropped up with the sound tracks, especially when microphones were accidentally turned off or not working, and what was said was lost. It soon became clear that more detailed minutes were was necessary. 

However, the change in the approach to preparing minutes in greater detail was not made until the January 2023 meeting. The long delay in response to the representatives concern,  it is believed, was due in part to a staffing issue.

Regardless of the reason, finally, the concerns expressed by Mr. Sigafoos and Mr. Chevalier about the absence of detailed minutes of District Board meetings is being met.

You may view Mr. Sigafoos congratulating the Community College administrative staff on their efforts to begin producing more detailed written minutes of Board meetings by clicking here.

His tireless advocacy for major community college improvement in Sedona and the Verde Valley  will  be missed

Sedona and the Verde Valley lost an important, tireless strong voice for improving their community college educational opportunities when Paul Chevalier resigned his seat on the Community College District Governing Board  effective Monday, January 30, 2023. 

Paul Chevalier

Despite sometimes ruffling the feathers of the Prescott-based executive who control the Community College in Sedona and the Verde Valley, Chevalier’s voice rang out during Board meetings as an east side advocate. Always thoroughly prepared, he raised questions about unfair expenditures of East County taxpayer funds, the absence of East County programs, and the 50-year failure of any commitment to seriously consider significant Community College development outside the Prescott area.

Unlike a majority on the Governing Board, he was never a rubber stamp ready to approve whatever the Prescott based executives recommended to the Governing Board.  He put the interests of students and the public in his district and the entire County ahead of silent acquiescence, even when he knew that the West side dominated board would mostly ignore him and rubber stamp whatever they were asked to approve.

In his resignation announcement Mr. Chevalier said: 

For four years I have served on the Yavapai College Governing Board as the elected representative of Yavapai County District 3. During this time I have tried my best to support or, alternatively, to recommend the best solutions for whole county college issues and the educational needs of the public of my district.

Today I turned 84 and, while my health is good, this is the moment for me to step down and let someone younger take my position. I am therefore resigning my position with the Board effective today.

Mr. Chevalier was superbly qualified for the position he held on the Governing Board.

EDUCATION 

HARVARD GRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL – CAMBRIDGE, MA

ADVANCED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM GRADUATE (AMP), 1979

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS – NEW YORK, NY

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA), 1966

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW – NEW YORK, NY

BACHELOR OF LAW (LL.B), 1966 COLUMBIA COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY – NEW YORK, NY

BACHELOR OF ARTS MAJOR IN GOVERNMENT (B.A.), 1960

CIVIC AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES 

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ALUMNI COUNCIL, 1986-1989

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

                DIRECTOR, 1981-1989

                PRESIDENT, 1984-1985

ARIZONA HUMANITIES COUNCIL 2003-2004

CITY OF SEDONA

1. 1. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION, CHAIR 2000-2004 
   2. PERSONNEL BOARD 2001-2003 
   3. YOUTH COMMISSION STUDY COMMITTEE 2003

SEDONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION 2008- 2013, CHAIR 2011-2013

YAVAPAI COLLEGE VERDE VALLEY BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE,  CHAIR 2014-(Committee suspended by Board in late 2016)

SEDONA RED ROCK REVIEW NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST 2001 -2008

 CIVIL INVOLVEMENT PRIOR TO MOVING TO SEDONA

LOS ANGELES CENTER FOR NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT. DIRECTOR, 1984-198

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT LAW COUNCIL

                DIRECTOR, 1984-1991

                EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, 1985-1990

                PRESIDENT, 1989

NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION – EMPLOYEE RELATIONS COMMITTEE

                MEMBER, 1972-1993

                CHAIR 1979-1982

NATIONAL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE – EMPLOYEE RELATIONS COMMITTEE

                STAFF REPRESENTATIVE, 1985-1993

JONATHAN ART FOUNDATION, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

(CURRENTLY THE FOUNDATION HAS  OVER 6 MILLION $ OF EARLY

 CALIFORNIA PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS THAT IT LOANS TO MUSEUMS,

AND SHOWS FOR THE PUBLIC.)

                FOUNDER, 1987

                PRESIDENT, 1987-1990

                CHAIRMAN EMERITUS, 1990-PRESENT

Military Experience

                ACTIVE DUTY UNITED STATES NAVY, 1960-1963

SERVED AS A NAVY OFFICER (FINAL RANK LT.) ON THE USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) MY MAIN DUTIES: FLEET OFFICER OF THE DECK UNDERWAY AND SHIP’S LEGAL OFFICER.

Career Experience

CONSULTANT, 1994-1998

                INVESTIGATIVE CONSULTING WITH REGARD TO DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT ISSUES.FOR DISNEY, DREAM WORKS, AND OTHER MULTI NATIONAL BUSINESSES AND NATIONAL LAW FIRMS

CARTER HAWLEY HALE STORES, INC. LOS ANGELES, CA, 1972-1993

(RENAMED BROADWAY STORES INC. AND TODAY MOSTLY PART OF MACY’S)

 AT THE TIME CHH WAS A $4 BILLION IN SALES RETAIL CORPORATION WITH OVER 40,000 REGULAR EMPLOYEES IN ITS BROADWAY, EMPORIUM, CAPWELLS, CONTEMPO CASUALS, WEINSTOCK’S, NEIMAN MARCUS, BERGDORF GOODMAN AND WALDENBOOKS STORES LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND HOLT-FENFREW IN CANADA.

DUTIES; CORPORATE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

                                 LITIGATED  BEFORE THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD AND                                                 STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS INCLUDING THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

                                RESOLVING EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS OF DISCRIMINATION OR                                                      HARASSMENT.

                                DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICIES.

                                HANDLING ALL LABOR RELATIONS WITH UNIONS.

                                DEVELOPING AND MANAGING THE CORPORATIONS EMPLOYEE BENEFITS INCLUDING MEDICAL AND PENSIONS                                                                 

MONTGOMERY WARD & CO. – CHICAGO ILLINOIS & OAKLAND, CA   1967-1972

AT THIS TIME MONTGOMERY WARD WAS A $2 BILLION IN SALES NATIONAL RETAILER WITH OVER 40,000 EMPLOYEES.

                DIRECTOR, LABOR RELATIONS, WESTERN REGION – 8 STATES

Current Chair McCasland will serve six years; new member Bracety will complete final four year term of Mitch Padilla

Yavapai County School Superintendent Mr. Tim Carter swore in Ms. Deb McCasland and Mr. Steve Bracety on December 5 to the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board. McCasland, the current chair of the Governing Board, ran unopposed in the November general election and will serve through 2028.  Bracety was appointed by County School Superintendent Tim Carter after Mitch Padilla stepped down to assume the position to which he was elected in November of Justice of the Peace for the Prescott precinct.  Bracety begins his term on the Board January 1, 2023, and will serve through 2026.

In a December 5 Community College news release by Tyler Rumsey, Barcety is quoted as saying that “it is an honor to be appointed to represent District 5 on the Yavapai College District Governing Board. I believe strongly in the value of higher education and have a passion for public service and Yavapai County. Yavapai College is critical for our communities growth, and I look forward to serving on its Governing Board.”

Ms. McCasland was quoted in the same news release as saying  that “the addition of Steve Bracety to our Board will be great for our residents throughout the county. He is well known in the community and has a strong public service and business background that will benefit our Board. I’d also like to thank Mitch Padilla for his service on the Board over the last two years, where his passion for the College and the success of our students was always evident.”

For additional detailed background information about Mr. Bracety, please click the December 1 Blog posting here.  

Bracety will represent Yavapai County District 5 for the remaining four years of the term of outgoing Board member Mitch Padilla  from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2026

Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter has announced the appointment of Mr. Stephen L. Bracety to the Yavapai College Governing Board to represent Yavapai County District 5. Mr. Bracety will complete the remaining four years of Mr. Mitch Padilla’s term on the Governing Board.  Mr. Padilla resigned after he was elected to serve as Justice of the Peace, Prescott Precinct, beginning in January 2023.

Mr. Bracety will be sworn in at a public event at Yavapai College at 9:00 am on Monday, December 5, 2022.

Bracety was selected from three candidates forwarded to Superintendent Carter by a Candidate Review Committee who found all of the applicants qualified for the position. The other two candidates were Mr. Joseph Butner and Mr. Michael Ellegood.  The candidate review committee consisted of the following:

Mrs. Mary Mallory, an elected official, who represents this same geographic district as the Chair of the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors. Mr. Chris Tenney, representing the faculty and staff, who is a Yavapai College Professor of Instrumental Music. Mr. Richard Hernandez, representing economic development and business interest, as the Director of the Regional Economic Development Center. Mr. Jacob Todd, representing students, who is studying medical science at Yavapai College. Mr. Matt Zurcher, representing taxpayers, as a realtor, a construction coordinator for Sparklight, and a member of the Central Yavapai Fire Board.

In announcing the selection, Superintendent Carter outlined Mr. Bracety’s background and many accomplishments. He wrote:

Mr. Bracety is well known in the community and has resided here for eighteen (18) years. He has held many positions within the hospitality industry, including service as the General Manager of the Prescott Resort and Conference Center. He is currently the Vice President of Operations and Talent Management with the Grace Hospitality Group.

Mr. Bracety holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Buffalo State College and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Mr. Bracety is married, and the couple have a daughter that is a junior at Northern Arizona University.

He has served as the President of the Prescott Frontier Rotary, was named the 2014 Man of the Year by Prescott Area Leadership, has served as the Board Chair of the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce. He was formerly on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Yavapai County Big Brothers and Big Sisters, is the Past President of the Prescott Fine Arts Association, and Past Board Chair of the Arizona Community Foundation. Mr. Bracety was the Founder of the City of Prescott Tourism Advisory Committee.

He has been working with various non-profits for many years on joint educational projects. An example was a recent early childhood literacy initiative, which had tremendous success, under the leadership of the Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County, which partnered with community stakeholders for financial support and was operated by the Yavapai County Education Service Agency (YCESA).

District 5 includes the following areas:

Aerie Townhouses        Camp Pinerock  Glassford Hill

Antelope Meadows         Camp Wamatochick        Golden Condos

Big Bug Creek Area          Castle Canyon    Granite Dells

Big Sky  Coyote Springs  Granville

Bradshaw Pines Camp    Creekside of Prescott      Groom Creek

Breezy Pine         Dana Condominiums      Hidden Valley

Camp Maripai    Diamond Valley Highlands Center

Jasper   Prescott Reamended      Preston Condominiums

Kamp Kipa          Prescott Valley  Pronghorn Ranch

Leigh Condos     Prescott Valley Santa Fe Quad Villas

Loba Estates       Prescott Valley Superstition Addition      Ranch at Prescott

Loma Estates      Prescott Valley Unit 1     Roundup Condos

Lynx Creek          Prescott Valley Unit 10   SkyYCamp

Lynx Lake             Prescott Valley Unit 11   Small Tracts

Lynx Mountain View       Prescott Valley Unit 12   Spruce Mountain Club

Millsite Village   Prescott Valley Unit 13   Stevens Condominiums

Mingus View      Prescott Valley Unit 14   Stoneridge

Mountain Glen  Prescott Valley Unit 15   Storm Ranch

Mountain Pine   Prescott Valley Unit 16   Tapestry at Granville Apartments

Mountain Shadows         Prescott Valley Unit 17   The Ranch

Navajo Commons             Prescott Valley Unit 18   The Viewpoint

Noah Berry          Prescott Valley Unit 19   Upper Groom

Nugget Patch     Prescott Valley Unit 2     Upper Little Copper Creek

Oak Knoll             Prescott Valley Unit 20   Victorian Estates

Parbac Condominium     Prescott Valley Unit 24   Viewpoint

Patterdell Pines Prescott Valley Unit 3     Walker

Pine Creek Area Prescott Valley Unit 4     Walker Final

Pine Hills              Prescott Valley Unit 5     Webfoot Subdivision

Pinehurst Estates             Prescott Valley Unit 6     Western Mesa

Poquito Valley   Prescott Valley Unit 7     Whispering Pines Camp

Potato Patch      Prescott Valley Unit 8     Yavapai Hills

Prescott Commerce         Prescott Valley Unit 9     Zone 12

Prescott East      Prescott Pines Camp

Since purchase in 2020 the Board has neither asked for nor received detailed information regarding the progress, problems, added costs or anything else about this experimental project.  Turns out project has been taxing staff, huge printer  rebuilt at unknown cost in labor and parts, two building experiments have failed, and future use depends on extremely well trained technicians – not students | Is it time to end the experiment rather than spend more taxpayer money on it but no one dares ask that question?

OPINION. The Yavapai Community College Governing Board has one employee who reports to it and for whom it is responsible:  the President.  Yet, the Board  has made no demands that the President properly inform it on a regular basis in detail about certain projects and programs costing thousands in taxpayer dollars.

Foundation and walls printed for experimental Tempe Habitat for Humanity home.

POOR REPORTING TO BOARD. One vivid illustration of the Board’s lack of concern with the poor reporting record occurred during the October 2022 meeting when  housing on the Verde Campus was a topic.  The information about the Community College’s expensive 3D cement printer project begun in February 2020 arose only inadvertently during the discussion.  

3D PRINTERS COST OVER $400,000.00  OF TAXPAYER MONEY. You may recall that in February 2020 the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board was asked by College administrators to amend its budget and authorize spending at least $400,000.00 dollars to  purchase  two  futuristic 3D cement construction printers (a big one and a little one).  It was an expensive investment in an experiment. (You may view the report made to the Governing Board in February 2020 about this project on the following video clip. https://www.screencast.com/t/Pbakk3g1

CHINO REPLACEMENT STILL NOT BUILT. When the announcement about the purchase was made in 2020,  the College said  the big machine could be  used “that summer” to build a small home on the Chino Valley Campus to replace a manufactured one owned by the College that is need of repair. That idea seems to have been abandoned.  Rather, three home sites have been created at the Chino  Valley Campus. None as of October 2022 have apparently yet been successfully constructed.

Moreover, because the newly purchased machine had to rebuilt, the goal of using it in the summer of 2020 vanished.  It has still not been used successfully.

Also, at the time of the original announcement, there was some thought the smaller machine would end up at the Verde Campus.  However, the small machine ended up at CTEC where it is used experimentally to test various grades of cement.

Career and Technical Education Center Dean John Morgan, who has been in charge of the cement 3D printer project, provided the Board with some information about the 3D machine at the October meeting.  (Click here to see video clip of Dean Morgan commenting to the Governing Board on the project at the October Governing Board meeting.)

MAJOR STAFF HEADACHE. It turns out that the project has been, at best, a major headache for Morgan and members of his staff. He described working with the 3D printer project as having “been a difficult journey.”  He said the College has  been “delayed on several fronts.”  Astonishingly, he also said the  large half million dollar machine purchased by the College “had to be completely rebuilt.”  No one on the Board asked about the reason for rebuilding the machine or the cost to the Community College in terms of labor and parts.   

BUILDING EFFORTS NOT SUCCESSFUL. Dean Morgan said that there had been at least two unsuccessful attempts at using the machine.  However, he was hopeful that a third effort at utilizing it would be successful.  No one on the Board asked for a clearer explanation regarding the reasons for the two failures.

Dean Morgan  emphasized that operating the big 3D cement printing machine is very technical with a steep learning curve.  The complexity  appears to make it doubtful that it will find much use by students in building anything.

SHORTAGE OF CONCRETE. He also informed the Board that the project faces an immediate problem of a concrete shortage.  “Local builders,” he said, are “allotted how much they can get in a week.”  Because of the limited availability of concrete and its cost, the College is now trying to shift to using ash rather than concrete in its building experiment. According to Morgan, if ash can be used, it is 30% less than concrete.

NO COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT. The College apparently never set up a Committee to work with the development of this expensive venture, which seemed to one Board member as unusual. 

UNIFORMED. The College has still not informed the Board in public of the major issues associated with building 3D constructed structures in Arizona such as  the impact major daily temperatures have on construction, that at present engineering estimates are that  it costs as much to build  a 3D printed house as a stick-built house, or that there has been a tendency for cracks in concrete walls to show up in early experiments.

SHOULD IT CONTINUE? There is a major question at this point regarding the efficacy of going forward with the project.  Are the future costs worth the potential benefits?   It is a question no one on the Board is prepared to ask. Probably because the project remains pretty much in the dark as far as actual knowledge is concerned.

If you want to see one of the first efforts at building a concrete home in Arizona, with an engineer’s  explanation of some of the problems, there is an excellent video in the  ENR Engineering News-Record.  Here is the link to the page that has the video on it (be careful, you only have one chance to open this page and see the video. After that, they want you to purchase a monthly subscription.)  https://www.enr.com/articles/51972-house-made-of-3d-printed-concrete-goes-up-in-arizona .

You can view a video clip of Dean Morgan’s comments to the Governing Board about the two machines made at the October meeting by clicking here.

SOURCES FOR THIS STORY INCLUDE:  October, 2022 Governing Board Business Meeting and various Blog articles listed below that you can view.

(Blog Article)  https://eyesonyavapaicollege.com/career-and-technical-education/thanks-to-questioning-by-paul-chevalier-at-board-meeting-we-now-know-much-more-about-400000-experimental-3d-concrete-printing-program/

(Blog Article) https://eyesonyavapaicollege.com/ctec/college-purchased-two-3d-cement-construction-printers-with-half-million-dollar-decision/

(Blog Article) https://eyesonyavapaicollege.com/ctec/architect-explains-how-new-3d-cement-construction-printer-can-be-used/

Listed below for your information are some videos describing the problems associated with 3D printing of homes and some information about the first cement house built in Tempe, Arizona.

https://architizer.com/blog/practice/details/3d-printed-buildings-future-or-gimmick/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz1LM9kwRLY  (outlines general overall problems)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N9UudQZVCs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMlUaCYYLPs

https://www.padtinc.com/2022/04/12/technology-behind-the-tempe-az-3d-printed-house-a-habitat-for-humanity-first/