Says enhanced partnership with VACTE “critically important” | Will offer unmanned aviation systems at “east high school” | Expand east side cultural opportunities | Investigate “affordable on-campus housing opportunities” | But provides few specifics
Yavapai Community College president Dr. Lisa Rhine outlined some of the future considerations for improving the College’s educational opportunities in the Sedona/Verde Valley area of the County at the September 14 District Governing Board meeting on the Verde Valley Campus. She offered no specific details about the future plans and did not identify by campus where the improvements might occur in the future.
She emphasized that enhancing the Community College’s partnership with the Valley Academy of Career and Technical Education was “critically important.” At least 25% of the Community College enrollment at the large CTEC campus operated at the Prescott airport comes from high school students on the west side of the County. She did not indicate what percentage of high school students are now enrolled in Career and Technical Education training at the College’s new CTE facility. Or, at the VACTE training center on highway 89 in Cottonwood.
Another promise she made was to expand the cultural opportunities for residents of the east side. For over 50 years the Community College has pumped millions of dollars into the west side of the County in its commitment to bring cultural activities to that area of the County while mostly ignoring the east side. Whether it has any money available to back up this commitment in a meaningful fashion is problematic.
Dr. Rhine also hopes to expand athletics into the east side of the County. Again, for 50 years the large and growing athletic program has been exclusively one for the east side of the County. By 2022 there will be at least eight athletic programs with a multi-million dollar support program driving them. It remains questionable whether Community College athletics will find a significant place on the east side of the County. There is little interest and all of the major matches and events are scheduled on the west side of the County. The distance and challenging driving conditions plus an absence of public transportation between the east and west sides of the County are major obstacles for east side residence attendance at west side events.
While suggesting the future possibility of an affordable residence hall on the east side of the County for Community College students, Dr. Rhine appeared somewhat less than enthusiastic about the idea. While the Community College has built three residence halls on the west side (one was recently torn down), it has never seriously considered construction of a single one of the east side. It remains problematic whether such a facility will arrive any time soon on the east side of the County.
You may view her remarks in the short video clip below.