NIC trustees seek full board
The North Idaho College Board of Trustees is seeking to appoint a new board member to fill Ron Nilson’s soon-to-be vacant seat.
Applications are due this Friday, July 15 and all contenders must be from the new Trustee Zone 5. Details about the position and the new zone are available at nic.edu/board/.
Nilson announced his resignation at a board meeting May 9, after the board approved new trustee zones. The new zoning would have placed him in the same zone as Trustee Todd Banducci.
The newly appointed trustee will serve on the board until Nilson’s original term finishes at the end of this calendar year.
Mark Browning, the vice president for communications and government relations at NIC, said the goal is to run the rest of the year with a full board.
He also said the seat would be up for election in November. Should the appointed trustee wish to continue on the board, he or she would have to win the election.
Ken Howard, NIC Board chair, said he is concerned the new trustee zones will scare off good, potential trustee candidates.
Trustees Judy Meyer and Todd Banducci are both up for re-election and each intends to run again.
“If you have two or three great people who want to apply and they live in the same district and nobody wants to apply from another district, it’s going to create a problem,” Howard said. “I hope that doesn’t happen.”
Howard is also concerned because, although Nilson has repeatedly voiced his intent to resign after August’s board meeting, and sent an email promising to send in his official letter of resignation this week, it has not happened yet. Nilson said he is definitely resigning. His last day will be Aug. 31. He said he plans to submit his official letter of resignation today.
Nilson said a good candidate for his position will be a conservative who holds the education system financially accountable.
“I believe if we do not find somebody that puts the needs of the community first, with some conservative views, we’ll go back to what we did in the past, which is we had no debates and votes were most of the time 5-0,” he said. “Since I’ve been on the board, most votes are 3-2, and that means there were healthy debates and discussions and both sides were represented.”
Trustee Christee Wood is hoping whoever is appointed for the position will help lessen the politics of the board.
“It’s been fairly political these past four years. We are not a rubber-stamp board, so that’s been somewhat good for the college and our board but also sometimes very challenging and damaging to our overall mission,” she said. “Every little moment that we spend on a political issue…that takes away our efforts from promoting all the things we need to be doing for students.”
Wood told The Press Monday she hopes someone with their own opinions and a “true desire” to serve the school and its taxpayers is appointed. She also hopes the appointee does not come to the board with any “preconceived political ideas and agendas.”
Trustee Judy Meyer, who said she is running for re-election come November, also wants to see a new appointee that really values the education system and “the need for access to information.”
Meyer decided to run for re-election because she is excited about the all the projects and good things the school is doing.
Her goal, should she be re-elected, is to look better at the long term effects of the board’s decisions.
“I want a board that evaluates carefully the long-term decisions that we make,” she said. “Boards are notorious for unintended consequences and unfunded mandates which I would want us to pay attention to so we don’t do that.”
Trustee Todd Banducci will also be seeking re-election this November.
“I think I fill an important role on the board. I think there’s definitely a niche spot for me. I bring a set of skills that are unique to me and I think we can all bring our own strengths to the table,” he said. “It will be interesting to see what the board looks like come November. There are some different philosophies and ideologies among the group…”