A key function of a Governing Board is fiduciary responsibility. What we know for a fact is that the financial health of CAC is excellent. Moreover, the Board understands the mission of a community college and has acted to fulfill that mission. An important mission of any community college is providing access to postsecondary education. As the only post-secondary institution in Pinal County, CAC has developed a geographically distributed campus system to provide access to students who otherwise might never have access to higher education. This feature is a very special characteristic of CAC and goes to the heart of access and educational equity. It provides students in far reaching and low populated areas with the opportunity to develop skills for local jobs or academic skills for transfer to four year institutions. CAC’s Governing Board has made decisions that have provided this access to education, in a large county such as Pinal, in a fiscally responsible manner.
In the last Board meeting, the Board voted to bring the Signal Peak Campus up to the 21st century by approving a $33 million revenue bond (not tax-funded) to replace the science and the student union building, two buildings whose time has come. The revenue bond is a responsible way to fund this infrastructure development.
As a taxpayer and a resident of Pinal County I wish to thank the president and the members of the CAC Governing Board for doing the right things.
/s/ Dr. Armineh Noravian