Poor leaders no bargain at any price

Warm up the calculator and let’s see how much bad leadership costs.

Starting with the obvious, plug in $500,000. That’s how much NIC Trustee Chair Todd Banducci, hellbent on jettisoning President Rick MacLennan without cause, ensured students and taxpaying citizens would fork over so that presidential pain in Banducci’s posterior would go away.

Of that $500,000, half came via lawsuit settlement. The college’s insurer, ICRMP, wrote the check, but the agency serving Idaho local governments is funded by taxpayers. The remaining $250,000 was the ongoing salary and benefits of MacLennan for a full year after he was told to leave.

Meanwhile, though someone would have to be paid fairly to occupy the president’s office, NIC is also paying interim boss Mike Sebaaly at an annual rate of $180,000, plus benefits. The Banducci-inspired leadership model therefore is costing $680,000 — at least — for one year of presidential services (and non-services).

Don’t forget that Lita Burns, who was the acting president before Sebaaly was interim president, received a pay increase equivalent to $200,000 a year. Burns, it should be noted, served briefly but with strength and class, from the time MacLennan was fired in September to Sebaaly’s promotion from wrestling coach to top dog in November.

Burns had been planning to retire in January anyway and was already on the NIC payroll, so let’s pretend her acting president stint didn’t cost anything extra. Still, bad leadership hasn’t finished fondling the calculator keys.

At what cost is the mass exodus of college leaders, including three president’s cabinet members, in the aftermath of MacLennan’s dismissal and a clear and disturbing pattern of incompetence from Banducci, Trustee Greg McKenzie and former Trustee Michael Barnes? Even if the six or so departing leaders are replaced at lower pay grades, what will be the long-term savings, if any, with so much experience and value vanishing almost overnight?

Even though the calculator is starting to overheat, it’s not done yet. The Press has received information that since Banducci’s rise to power, the college’s foundation has lost at least $6 million in support from donors. While those aren’t necessarily dollars from taxpayers and students, replacing the lost funding to support NIC students and programs would come back to land in the laps of students and taxpayers.

And with the tally already somewhere in orbit above North Idaho, note that what would likely be the highest cost of all hasn’t even been mentioned yet. If the three trustees’ lousy leadership ends up seriously damaging NIC’s accreditation, the cost will be inestimable — and unforgivable.

If you happen to live in Zone 5 and think you’ve got what it takes, consider tossing your name in the hat to fill Barnes’ vacant seat for the remainder of the year. But don’t consider too long; the deadline is 5 p.m. today.