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NIC: Subpoenas are harassment of employees

| January 8, 2023 1:00 AM

It has come to my attention that the questionable hiring of Attorney Art Macomber at NIC continues to generate much distress for the campus. At the cost of $325 per hour to the taxpayers, Art has recently obtained a long list of subpoenas that he has served or intends to serve upon college employees and former trustees at the behest of Trustees Banducci, McKenzie and Waggoner.

The subpoenas appear to be a fishing expedition to hopefully find an email conversation that leads them to declaring an errant hiring of Dr. Swayne.

Art, you and your clients will come up emptyhanded, but the taxpayers will be the ones with the true empty hands. At a time when all of you should be protecting the college, you again prove to be incompetent. Instead, your focus is on terrorizing college employees.

Dr. Swayne was hired after a very public search process that involved numerous community members, business professionals and educators. The NIC Board in place at the time approved his contract in a public board meeting. The action of putting him on administrative leave is a gross misstep.

Ken Howard and I were no longer on the Board of Trustees and did not participate in the decision to hire Dr. Swayne. On your long subpoena list is the female employee who was physically assaulted by Trustee Banducci. Banducci later signed a settlement agreement with that employee. It appears the trustees, and you as college attorney, are using the authority of your office to continually harass this employee.

Let me be clear Art, that if you show up with a subpoena at my door you will need to have the witness fee with it as required by Idaho code.

I will promptly donate that fee to the Nick Swayne legal defense fund. The four of you with your unabashed ties to the KCRCC have proven time and again to put the college at extreme risk. History will not be kind to any of you.

CHRISTIE WOOD

Trustee Emeritus