Board Chair says items Chevalier wanted discussed based on March open call public comments were not appropriate Board matters but issues for President; Chevalier asks that those matters not within President’s ambit be discussed at May Board meeting
It’s sometimes tough, if not impossible, to get an agenda item placed on the Governing Board agenda for discussion. It’s even tougher to find a public way of getting a response from the Administration to concerns raised by citizens at various Board meetings if they are not discussed at a Board meeting. Citizens are left pretty much in the dark without a public response from anyone.
Third District Representative Paul Chevalier
The difficulty of getting a particular item publicly discussed by the Community College Governing Board was illustrated by the recent actions of Third District Community College Representative Paul Chevalier.
At the March 2022 Governing Board meeting in Sedona several citizens raised a number of issues during the Open Call to the public. There was, of course, no response from the Governing Board to them at that time because they weren’t on an agenda.
Also at the March meeting, immediately following the citizen comments, Mr. Chevalier specifically requested that an agenda item be added to the April agenda so several of the citizen comments, 27 of them, could be addressed by the Board. (Click here to view a video clip of Mr. Chevalier making the March request.)
Prior to the April meeting, Mr. Chevalier spoke with the Governing Board Chair. She explained that “our agenda was full with Board matters. I had a conversation with you that we only discuss Board business and that is why it’s not on this agenda.” When Chevalier asked if the Chair would put the item on the next agenda, the Chair replied: “I think I told you that a lot of your request was not Board business.” Chevalier then responded that he once again was formally requested that those items that were raised by the public at the March meeting that are Board matters be placed on the May agenda. (Click here to view a video clip of Mr. Chevalier making the April request.)
The Board meeting then moved on without further discussion.