NIC president’s contract tabled

COEUR d’ALENE — The North Idaho College board of trustees will not decide whether to renew the college president’s contract until Sept. 22 at the earliest.

The board met Tuesday afternoon, following a special session Aug. 27 in which trustees tabled a vote on the matter.

NIC President Rick MacLennan is hired by the board of trustees and his contract depends on board approval.

Trustees review the three-year NIC president contract every year.

Trustee Christie Wood noted that Chair Todd Banducci did not call for a vote to enter an executive session to discuss MacLennan’s contract, though doing so was an item on the agenda.

“He chose not to follow the agenda, which was developed entirely by him,” she told The Press after Tuesday’s meeting. “I hadn’t seen it until late (Monday).”

A two-thirds majority — four out of five trustees — is needed to enter a special session.

Trustee Ken Howard moved to table the matter until the next scheduled board meeting Sept. 22, with the proviso that no other special sessions be called before that date.

The motion passed 3-1, with Trustees Michael Barnes, Howard and Wood in favor and Trustee Greg McKenzie opposed.

McKenzie criticized Howard’s vote last week against breaking for an executive session.

“I believe engaging in conversation is the first step to finding a solution,” he said. “Your opportunity to engage in that conversation you personally shot down.”

In response, Howard said he acted to encourage public dialogue and enable the community to listen to the board’s discussions as much as possible, rather than “hide behind rhetoric in executive session.”

“I’m asking that we move to Sept. 22 so we all have the opportunity to get whatever information we need to act reasonably,” he said.

Howard previously criticized Banducci’s decision not to allow public comment at last week’s meeting, as well as the limited opportunity for board members to review proposed changes to policy.

There was no public comment at Tuesday’s meeting.

NIC faculty and staff members passed a joint resolution in support of MacLennan last week, calling him “a champion of educational opportunity and an ambassador for entrepreneurship in North Idaho.”

The resolution called on the board to renew MacLennan’s contract.