What is Yavapai College hiding, if anything?
Commentary
The Yavapai Community College Administration’s curtain of secrecy over its operations is puzzling. And it should be of concern to every citizen in Yavapai County.
The College uses the adoption by the District Governing Board of the Carver™ model of governance as a shield to protect it from providing information to the public. The Carver model says all operations are in the hands of the College President. It tells Governing Board members they cannot interfere in any way with operations. They are forbidden from talking with students, faculty or staff about the College. The Administration tells faculty and staff they cannot talk to Board members about any problems they may have. It is a part of a curtain of a calculated secrecy surrounding the College’s operation.
Incredibly, once a vote on an issue is taken by the Governing Board, the Governing Board members are forbidden by the Carver model from discussing their view with the public if they dissented. These are public officials elected by the voters who have had this yoke placed on them. They should remove it now!
The College has set up a communications control funnel that requires almost every piece of information be passed by the President. The College has made it clear to staff and faculty they are not to provide College information unless it is funneled through the President’s office. However, requests for information sent to the President’s office can be ignored, delayed, or provided in a form of little use. Sometimes the curtain of secrecy exercised by the President is so obvious one can only scratch one’s head.
For example, it was no accident that the Blog’s video reporter was refused admission to a Health Care summit put together by the College. At that summit Prescott Valley officials were present, among others. It was no accident that when the Blog asked for enrollment data for 2015-16 it was forced to prepare a formal public data request; the Blog still awaits an answer.
It was no accident that the Verde Independent was required to make a formal public data request for information about the number of 2015 Verde graduates. Or that its repeated requests for information about enrollment have been ignored.
This is an Administration that believes in telling Yavapai County citizens only what it wants them to hear via its propaganda office. Nothing else. It is a closed, tightly controlled information agency. What is it afraid of?
Please click here to read an outstanding editorial on secrecy written by The Verde Independent editor, Dan Engler, detailing the incredible experience he has had with the College Administration. You have to read it to believe it.