NIC: Losing the community

I don’t know the details of the NIC president’s job performance, but I question changes at NIC that seem incongruent with a mission to serve the local community.

Last year, I took three Community Education photography classes and looked forward to more. I taught some classes for the division last spring (painting and writing) and although one class had a waiting list, was told the program was closing. No more Community Education classes are being offered.

Why? No one seemed to know. We are now a community with a community college that does not offer any education courses for enrichment. Our burgeoning population of active retirees seeks educational opportunities. Community Education is essential to the cognitive and social health of the residents.

What happened at NIC? Years ago, there was a summer Elderhostel program which brought students from across the country to learn about Idaho culture and history. People drove from New England, making the classes a vacation destination. (I taught for that program, so remember it well.) That no longer exists at NIC.

This week, I received a notice about one of their newest class offerings: an online course from another school about how to kiln dry lumber. Somewhat esoteric, in that there aren’t many people with their own sawmill. But the course costs the school very little.

Where is NIC going in the future? As a community we deserve value in the form of authentic educational experiences for everyone. The public should be included in that.

LAURIE CARLSON

Coeur d’Alene