Gila Community College tried to split from Eastern Arizona College. Here's why

Students in rural Gila County for nearly 20 years have had access to community college courses, including a highly-regarded nursing program, through a unique arrangement between the Gila County Provisional Community College District and Eastern Arizona College.

Under the arrangement, Gila Community College, which does not have its own accreditation, pays Eastern Arizona College, a fully independent community college, to offer accredited courses and programs at two campuses in Gila County, one in Payson at the northern end and a second 80 miles away in the Globe-Miami region at the southern end.

But a sudden split between Gila Community College and Eastern Arizona College, which some compared to a bitter divorce, threatened to upend the plans of hundreds of students in Gila County, a rural area known for ranching and mining with limited opportunities for post-secondary education.

Both schools blamed each other for the contentious breakup, leaving students stuck in the middle, uncertain whether they could take classes this fall in Gila County.

The conflict between the schools came to a head at public meetings at the end of July, when Gila County residents expressed their disapproval over the abrupt termination of the 18-year-old agreement.

At the same time, Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson, R-Gilbert, threatened to have the Legislature take action unless the two sides hammered out their differences.

The mounting pressure prompted an about-face by Eastern Arizona College, giving students a reprieve. Now, residents, high schools and, most importantly, students hope for a smoother transition.

Students such as 24-year-old Nicholas Rizzo.

Rizzo planned to start a two-year nursing program at the Payson campus after spending the last two years knocking out prerequisite courses in anatomy, biology and chemistry.

But in June, Rizzo was shocked to read an article in the Payson Roundup, the local newspaper, about the split.

He then received an email from the nursing program informing him that due to the split, the Payson campus would not accept students starting the first of the program's four blocks. Instead, he'd have to start the program at Eastern Arizona College.

But Eastern Arizona College is located in Thatcher, in neighboring Graham County. Thatcher is a nearly 3-hour drive from Payson, where Rizzo lives with his disabled father and works as a golf assistant. Commuting that far while juggling the rigors of a highly-demanding nursing program was out of the question. That meant Rizzo would have to move to Thatcher, leaving his dad.

There was another problem. Rizzo had been driving to Thatcher for weeks looking for housing. But due to a housing shortage in Thatcher, Rizzo said he could not find any apartment, let alone one he could afford.

What's more, Rizzo feared losing two scholarships he received to cover most of the program's cost because the scholarships were for residents of Gila County, not Graham County.

In short, Rizzo's life had been turned upside down in a span of a few weeks.

"That's kind of why I'm so upset. They're basically kicking us all to the curb," Rizzo said in early July.

But as frustrations and criticism from residents of Gila County continued to mount, the two schools announced on July 28 they had reached a new agreement, one that will allow students to start one- and two-year programs at the two Gila Community College campuses this fall. In addition to nursing, Gila Community College offers two-year programs in cosmetology, medical assisting, welding, general education, and general technical studies.

The agreement was reached just weeks before classes start on Aug. 21. It means Rizzo can start the nursing program in Payson after all and won't have to move to Thatcher.

Rizzo was at his golf course job when he learned the news via text message.

"I literally yelled out," Rizzo said. "I was ecstatic, to say the least."

Contract decisions leave students in the lurch

In 1999, the Legislature authorized counties to institute tax levies and create provisional districts to offer accredited courses by partnering with an accredited independent community college.

The legislation was intended to give rural counties in Arizona, like Gila, the opportunity to offer accredited community college classes and programs to residents as a provisional district while moving to create an independent district of their own. Before the agreement, Gila was one of four rural counties in Arizona without its own community college. Back then, Eastern Arizona College offered some courses at rented storefronts in Gila County. But students who wished to take courses unavailable within Gila County had to travel to other counties.

In 2002, voters in Gila County approved a tax levy to create a provisional district. An agreement was reached with Eastern Arizona College in 2005.

Under the agreement, the Gila County Provisional Community College District has contracted with Eastern Arizona College to provide accredited courses, programs and other academic services. Eastern Arizona College pays about $5 million a year to cover Gila Community College's budgeted expenses, including providing accreditation and other academic services. Gila County then reimburses that money to Eastern Arizona College. In addition, Eastern Arizona College charges Gila County 25% in administrative fees, which amounts to about $1.2 million a year, according to Jan Brocker, president of the Gila County Provisional Community College District's governing board.

Last fall, 1,353 students from Gila County enrolled in classes offered through Eastern Arizona College within the county, including 110 full-time and 1,243 part-time students, according to data provided by Eastern Arizona College. About 330 of the students were under 18, mostly high school students in dual enrollment or job training programs offered through Eastern Arizona College.

There was a feeling among board members that Eastern Arizona College was attempting to impede Gila Community College's efforts to move from a provisional to a fully independent community college district to avoid losing out on a lucrative contract, Brocker said. Eastern Arizona College officials contest those claims.

So, in May, Gila Community College officials notified Eastern Arizona College the district was ending its contract at the end of June 2024 but would give students two more years after that to finish up programs.

"None of our programs are more than two years. So we felt like there was a good cushion," Brocker said.

Eastern Arizona College officials, in turn, decided to move up the termination date and severe ties this fall.

The earlier termination date would have prevented new students from enrolling at the Payson or Globe-Miami campuses. It also would have given existing students one year to complete programs at either campus under the Eastern Arizona College accreditation. What's more, enrichment courses popular with Payson's large retirement community would not have been offered starting in the spring of 2024.

Brocker said she believes Eastern Arizona College's decision to move up the termination date was motivated by spite and to turn students against Gila Community College's decision to terminate the contract, which Eastern Arizona College officials strongly dispute.

"What we don't understand is why EAC seems to want to hurt our district, why they want to cause us so much harm," Brocker said in early July. "But it appears that they're using our students as pawns."

The conflict between the schools reached a crescendo at public meetings in Miami and Payson at the end of July. At the meeting in Miami, many residents blamed Gila Community College officials for trying to terminate an agreement with Eastern Arizona College that seemed to be working well. Others faulted Gila Community College officials for not lining up a new school partner to offer accredited courses in Payson and Globe-Miami without disruption once the contract with Eastern Arizona College ended.

"You made a decision that impacts the entire community without a plan," Gila County resident and business owner Erika Flores scolded Gila Community College officials. Flores' comments elicited loud applause during the meeting, held in the auditorium of Miami High School, which sits in the shadow of a huge copper mine.

Other residents expressed concern that ending the contract with Eastern Arizona College would decrease the quality of courses, especially in the nursing program, which has one of the highest pass rates in the state and one of the lowest price tags. Residents also worried the split would disrupt dozens of enrichment courses offered in Gila County through Eastern Arizona College. Among the enrichment courses offered are ceramics, oil painting, watercolors, yoga, hiking, aerobics and T’ai Chi Ch’uan.

Others expressed fear the decision to break away from Eastern Arizona College and create an independent community college district would lead to higher taxes that the county's mostly working-class residents would be unable to afford. There were also questions about how the split would affect high school students in Gila County who take dual enrollment classes for college credit.

Jerry Jennex, superintendent of Globe Unified School District, implored officials from both schools to put aside differences and come up with a solution in the best interest of students.

"Both sides have to give," Jennex said. "We don't want winners and losers. The losers right now are our kids."

Eastern Arizona College: Debt part of decision to expedite termination

The agreement in principle reached by the two schools allows a final group of students to start one- or two-year programs this fall in Gila County. They will have two years to finish the programs at either the Payson or Globe-Miami campuses under the Eastern Arizona College accreditation. The agreement also extends personal interest courses, especially popular with retirees, such as art and astronomy, until the fall of 2025.

"We are elated that EAC has agreed to do what's right for the students of Gila County," said Brocker, the Gila County provisional district's governing board president. "We look forward to implementing the orderly transition we proposed when we gave EAC 14 months' notice that GCC would seek a new accreditation solution. This takes the pressure off our students and staff, which has been our top priority since day one."

Eastern Arizona College Director of Marketing and Public Relations Kris McBride accused Gila Community College officials of mischaracterizing the school's decision to expedite the termination date. He said the decision was made so Eastern Arizona College could protect students from facing disruptions midway through their programs.

"They angled it that EAC is finally doing what is right for students and, I have to say, at EAC we've always had the bests interests of our Gila County students at heart," McBride said. "That's why we initially expedited the contract termination deadline because we didn't want to place students in a bad position. We are a two-year school, and we didn't want to offer two-year programs when we just had a one-year contract."

"This entire time, we wanted to make sure that students were protected. We didn't want to offer classes that could be terminated — classes that could change," McBride added.

Furthermore, Eastern Arizona College expedited the contract deadline so that Eastern Arizona College could work with Gila Community College's new, accredited school partner to facilitate a smooth transition. But it turned out Gila County hadn't yet lined up a new partner, McBride pointed out.

"It's become apparent that they made that announcement without having an education provider, or having identified or chosen one," McBride said.

McBride also denied Gila Community College officials' allegations that Eastern Arizona College has tried to impede Gila County from creating its own independent community college district.

"We've known for many years that the Gila board was wanting to become independent. We've known that for many years. And we were supportive of that," McBride said.

McBride also disclosed that Gila Community College was nearly $2 million delinquent in paying Eastern Arizona College for academic services when the Gila County community college board decided to terminate the contract.

The money has since been paid.

“EAC is a small college and can’t carry large balances for others,” McBride said in a written statement. “Now that this debt has been met, EAC has offered to extend its stay in Gila County to allow students to participate in our academic programs.”

Janice Lawhorn, interim president of the Gila County Provisional Community College District, disputed McBride's account of the debt. Gila County officials wanted documentation from Eastern Arizona College before they paid the bill. The $2 million invoice received in April was $500,000 higher — nearly 40% more — than any other quarterly invoice Gila County had received during the length of the contract, Lawhorn said.

Gill County still hasn't received the documentation from Eastern Arizona College even though the bill has been paid, Lawhorn said.

"When it became clear that this payment would be a sticking point in terminating the contract, we made the payment immediately," Lawhorn said. "To date, we have not received all the documentation from EAC about the entirety of this billing. We look forward to getting this information on behalf of the Gila County taxpayers."

What's next for higher education in Gila County?

It's now up to the Gila Community College board to find a new partner to provide academic services, McBride said.

“If the Gila Board would focus more on identifying and securing an educational provider than publicly airing past grievances, EAC could immediately begin transitioning educational services with limited impact to students,” McBride said in his statement. "EAC’s contract extension temporarily bridges the gap for students caught in the middle, but a new contract with a different community college would lessen confusion and provide Gila County students the higher educational opportunities they deserve.”

Meanwhile, the agreement in principle reached between the two schools extends the contract's termination date to June 30, 2025.

Here is what that means for Gila County students:

Eastern Arizona College will admit one final group of students for the fall of 2023 semester to enroll in two-year programs such as nursing and cosmetology, as well as high school dual enrollment and job training programs at the two Gila County campuses.

No additional groups of students will be admitted for two-year programs after the fall of 2023 semester.

For one-year programs, Eastern Arizona College will admit students until the fall 2024 semester. After that, no new students will be admitted to one-year programs.

In the final semester of the contract — the spring of 2025 — only semester-length credentials and classes that allow students to finish their declared degree or certification will be offered.

Courses that are single semester in length, including personal interest courses, will be offered through the spring 2025 semester.

Daniel Gonzalez covers race, equity and opportunity. Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8312.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gila Community College tries to split from Eastern Arizona College