NIC trustees vote no to reinstating Swayne

COEUR d’ALENE — The same three North Idaho College trustees who voted in December to place President Nick Swayne on administrative leave voted during Wednesday’s board meeting to leave him there.

Trustees Greg McKenzie, Todd Banducci and Mike Waggoner voted no to a motion made by Trustee Brad Corkill to reinstate Swayne immediately.

“President Swayne was hired at the end of a legitimate process,” Corkill said. “He is still our president. I believe the first step in the healing process is to reinstate President Swayne.”

The agenda item regarding the president’s position was addressed at the end of a nearly five-hour meeting. At McKenzie’s direction, the trustees voted with no discussion on the matter.

Trustee Tarie Zimmerman voted with Corkill to return Swayne to the president’s office, with McKenzie, the board chair, casting the tie-breaking vote.

The trustees also voted 4-1 to authorize McKenzie and a new attorney, Kelly Drew, to explore terms of a settlement with Swayne and his legal counsel. Swayne filed a lawsuit in December seeking to be removed from administrative leave and returned to his president’s job. Zimmerman cast the only opposing vote.

The college’s public notice of Wednesday’s meeting warned that “in the interest of a timely meeting, the board chair reserves the right to end public comment at any time after 30 minutes.”

However, the board heard more than two hours of testimony from nearly 60 members of the public, most speaking on the subject of accreditation. The college received a letter Feb. 9 from its accreditor the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities placing NIC in show cause status — a final step before loss of accreditation.

Roughly a dozen of those who spoke were in support of the board.

Eric Klinkhammer said he would rather NIC lose accreditation than continue to be “a sink” for tax dollars and condemned those who have criticized the board majority.

“I support this board regardless of the outcome,” he said. “Frankly I don’t think anyone cares about Swayne or accreditation or whatever else those people are whining about. If they did, they would work with the elected board. They care about power. They are driven by hate — hatred of you, of us, the voters and God.”

Among the rest who commented, some were neutral, but the majority were critical of the board, many calling for the reinstatement of Swayne and the resignations of McKenzie, Banducci and Waggoner.

Larry Briggs, a retired NIC dean of general studies, implored the board majority to reinstate Swayne as the first step to “give the college a fighting chance” to recover its good standing.

“The people who established the college in Coeur d’Alene 90 years ago and the subsequent generations that built NIC into a force for good throughout the region are owed gratitude, not loss of accreditation,” he said. “Their legacy is to build opportunity, prosperity and collaboration. Will your legacy be to destroy that promise?”

Prior to Corkill’s motion to reinstate Swayne, Trustee Tarie Zimmerman asked the board to address a letter the board received this week from the NIC Faculty Assembly Executive Committee.

The letter included several steps for the board to take to save the college from losing accreditation: remove Interim President Greg South and the team of interim administrators he has hired since the board hired him in December; take Swayne off administrative leave and reinstate him as the college’s sole president; give Swayne full operational authority of the college; and remove acting legal counsel Art Macomber.

“Mr. Macomber had provided poor guidance and facilitated multiple violations of open meeting laws,” Zimmerman said.

She also pointed to the 17 subpoenas Macomber issued to college employees, former trustees and others, which have since been withdrawn, as well as to the more than $47,000 he has billed the college for his services in the last two months and to the donations he has made to McKenzie, Waggoner and Banducci.

“I think we should find an attorney who has not made campaign contributions to trustees,” Zimmerman said.

Prior to voting against reinstating Swayne, McKenzie said, “Nobody wins by NIC losing accreditation.”

McKenzie said he was disappointed the college received a show cause sanction, but that he is encouraged the trustees will be able to work together with the administration to save the college from losing accreditation.

“I firmly believe all of us trustees will speak with one voice and fix our governance board governance issues,” McKenzie said.