This week, Arizona Senator John McCain sent a letter to Pima Community College Chancellor Lee Lambert expressing his concern about the mishandling of veterans’ education benefits by the college.
A recent U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs audit of PCC, found that PCC failed to properly report to the VA information about changes in the records of Veterans Benefit Recipients. In May, the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services reinstated PCC’s authority to certify enrollment of new-to-PCC Veterans Benefits Recipients.
In his letter, McCain writes that while he understands that Lambert is “the relatively new Chancellor of PCC,” and that Lambert “unfortunately inherited this student veteran issue,” he demanded “immediate action to remedy this widespread problem.”
Residents of Pima County attempted to recall College’s Governing Board president Scott Stewart and two other Board members this year but met stiff opposition from key players in the Pima County GOP. Under Stewart the College has seen its darkest days.
According to McCain, Lambert has met with the Senator in his office on three separate occasions since the veteran audit was announced in March 2014. “Following those meetings, I understand that PCC has announced a public outreach campaign aimed at directly assisting past and present PCC student veterans,” wrote McCain. “I have directed my Tucson office staff to attend these sessions and further support our student veterans wherever possible. Furthermore, I understand that you have pledged PCC’s support to financially assist student veterans who receive debt letters from the VA due to no fault of their own. This is a positive first of many steps to correct past mistakes and ensure that Arizona’s veterans receive the educational benefits they have earned.”
The College will host two forums to provide information to current and former students who attended PCC since Fall 2010 as a Veterans Education Benefit recipient.