NIC BOARD: Ruled by two trustees’ personal agendas

I’ve been an Idaho resident for 53 years, with grandchildren born in Kootenai County. They will be attending college. I’ve encouraged them to consider NIC. 10% of my Kootenai County property tax supports NIC.

I’ve followed the NIC Board meetings through YouTube and Zoom. I suggest you take the time to see how the board has conducted these meeting.

In my career as an educator and personal life as a community volunteer, I have attended hundreds of meetings. I’ve never witnessed anything similar to the conduct of the NIC Board of Trustees meetings. Two trustees appear to have personal agendas with an “us-or-them” attitude toward citizens. They seem to represent only a certain section of our community. We all have a stake in the success of NIC, personal, economic, etc.

The behavior of some community members attending the Dec. 10 meeting was disruptive and probably unproductive to their goals. It seems obvious these citizens feel unrepresented, “shut out,” powerless and frustrated. They need opportunities to voice their concerns. Two trustees made antagonistic comments. Instead of disparaging citizens, making misogynist remarks about the women in the group, and lecturing the attendees about behavior — a respectful acknowledgement of citizens’ concerns is needed…structured time for public comment at the beginning of each meeting, listening to ideas with a more open mind…and most importantly, insure that all Board of Trustee business is discussed, deliberated, and decided in the public forum. Even the hint of “backroom machinations” can undermine public trust.

LESLIE WILDE

Hayden