McCasland questioning reveals inequity in scholarship awards; College places huge priority on athletic program
During the April 18, 2017 District Governing Board meeting, representative Deb McCasland asked Vice President Clint Ewell about the allocation of institutional scholarship awards. The question focused on how the College intended to distribute $877,000 in what is described as “institutional scholarships.” These are scholarships generated by property taxes and tuition. (The chart below shows the budgeted amount.)
Ewell responded that about 75% of the scholarships were intended for student athletes. These are athletes recruited by the College from outside Yavapai County. As the chart below shows, less than 4% of student athletes are recruited from high schools in the County. The remainder is intended for student leadership and the honors program.
Does anyone think it might be unfair to allocate such a huge percentage of scholarship funds to athletes? Moreover, does the unfairness increase when you realize that almost none of those scholarships are awarded to Yavapai County High School students?
