Aerospace partnership benefits NIC, industry

SANDPOINT — For the first time since creating rural outreach centers in places like Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry, the North Idaho College Board of Trustees held a formal board meeting at one.

Approximately 70 people attended the Wednesday board meeting at the Sandpoint Events Center. It was an opportunity for the board to hear about local NIC successes at the place where those successes have taken place.

Although board meetings can often be dry affairs, this meeting kicked off with a presentation by NIC at Sandpoint administrators, who touted the partnerships between the college and local employers.

“This is an aerospace hub, with some great aerospace partners,” Kassie Silvas, dean of outreach and educational innovation, told the board.

One of the many partners is Priest River aerospace manufacturer Aerocet, a maker of composite airplane floats used for amphibious landings.

“We’re excited about the partnership with NIC,” Garry Hojan, operations manager for Aerocet told the board.

He noted that, until recently, Idaho had no workforce training money for aerospace. Now Aerocet has employees that have been trained through NIC. He noted the responsiveness of the college was helpful in helping Aerocet meet and exceed its workforce needs and expectations.

“They are probably the most well equipped and dedicated employees,” he said. “We’ve been so pleased with the partnership.”

Part of that ongoing partnership includes the launch this summer of a composite fabrication lab courses through NIC located at the Aerocet plant.

“This is helping Garry train potential employees and train students on site,” Silvas said. “It’s a wonderful partnership.”

The board also got a very critical first look at the proposed 2016 budget, putting Chris Martin, vice president for finance and business affairs, on the hot seat for nearly an hour. The first budget reading included a $5 per credit hour tuition increase, plus a $3 per credit hour increase for non-Kootenai County students, according to budget documents.

The budget proposes 1.27-percent, $515,000 budget increase over the 2015 fiscal year.

The budget will continue to be hammered out in detail at a future budget workshop.