At a meeting of the Yavapai College Governing Board on Nov. 16, the board went on the attack against District 3 Representative Paul Chevalier, who represents the interests of Sedona, Clarkdale, Cottonwood and parts of Cornville.
The Prescott-majority community college board seems happy to steal our tax dollars because our residents don’t deserve the college’s services. One board member said that because the Sedona area’s population is older, Chevalier’s District 3 has different needs and interests.
The median age in Prescott is 58.3; in Sedona it’s 61.2, but a 2.9-year difference cannot be so monumental.
Apparently the board doesn’t know Sedona has a few residents under age 65. Our high school- and college-age residents, amazingly, might want to attend a community college that they, their parents, grandparents, neighbors, teachers and employers have been funding. That said, the median age in Cottonwood — also in Chevalier’s District 3 — is 46, younger than Prescott.
Due to Chevalier’s tough questioning of college staff on Nov. 16, and his constant complaints that Prescott-area college staff and board members ignore, cut, short-change and cheat the Verde Valley, Yavapai College District 4 Representative Chris Kuknyo whined that Verde Valley students have access to the programs “available” in Prescott area — if they don’t mind a daily 90 minute drive — then Kuknyo threatened to cut off any debate about equity of access or equality of Verde Valley programs.
“It makes me not want to help and just push away and concentrate on the other stuff,” Kuknyo then said.
The Chino Valley representative fails to comprehend that Verde Valley tax dollars provide more than a third of his college’s budget, ergo, we should have a third of the programs we pay for.
Yet, how would Kuknyo’s “sudden decision” to ignore the Verde Valley’s concerns be any different than the last 40 years of the community college ignoring, cheating, short-changing and stealing tax dollars and programs from the Verde Valley to benefit the Prescott side?
The previous community college president and her then-board picked a fight with the Verde Valley a decade ago, and in so doing lost a huge land endowment that went to the Pima County-based University of Arizona instead and faced a Verde Valley secession drive that only diminished with the president’s retirement and Chevalier’s election. The risk of secession still looms if ignorant board members want to revive abuse.
Kuknyo is impressed by the Verde Valley wine center at Yavapai College as well as “… the food-makin’ place …,” which we can only assume is what the officials like Kuknyo who run the board of a higher education institution call the “Sedona Culinary Arts Program.”
The wine center is in the Verde Valley because Prescott college officials can’t physically steal and move the land the Verde Valley vineyards sit on.
Kuknyo also griped about his biggest critic and watchdog in the Verde Valley — former college governing board member Bob Oliphant, whose “Eye on Yavapai College” newsletter should be required reading for Verde Valley residents concerned about the college and our tax dollars.
Read Eye on Yavapai College by clicking here.
Kuknyo wants the Verde Valley to be happy with whatever scraps he tosses our way and demand no oversight of how he misspends our tax dollars.
“There’s also a city government over there” — Sedona — “that now wants all the records on what’s being spent in their community,” a flabbergasted Kuknyo exasperated. “I never heard of [a municipality] to start showing its record on what it spends. This is getting crazy.”
What’s crazy is Kuknyo thinks this is unusual. It’s our money that he’s misspending. Firstly, the Sedona City Council and every single taxpayer shouldn’t have to ask. We have the legal right to know where every nickel and dime is spent. Yavapai College should be posting how every single dime, dollar, Dogecoin and doubloon is being spent.
Kuknyo must show where our money goes. This is not optional. This is law. If Kuknyo is trying to hide spending from taxpayers and other governments, taxpayers and Verde Valley cities should force an immediate, comprehensive audit of the college to see what Kuknyo is so terrified to disclose.
The meeting also revealed why the board wants Chevalier to shut up: “Hearing the positive would bring more donors, but if they hear negativity all the time, they’re not going to donate to the college,” a board member worried aloud at the meeting.
Then don’t negatively harm your taxpayers.
Clearly education is not the goal of the community college board, rather, they only want to suck more cash from unsuspecting donors they lie to as the college fails to serve students.
If you want donations, don’t fail so spectacularly at your jobs.
Show us your bookkeeping.
Don’t abuse our taxpayers.
Don’t misuse our money.
Don’t betray our students.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
