OPINION: No more educational chaos, please

Chaos might be fun for a while, but North Idaho has had enough.

As Kootenai County kids go back to school, we are all ready for normalcy, consistency and routine.

Recent events at both North Idaho College and the West Bonner School District teach us valuable lessons about how fed up people are with bad governance and administrative chaos.

First at North Idaho College, three trustees voted to hire an inexperienced, activist attorney at $275 per hour. As NIC’s new general counsel, D. Colton Boyles is light on education law experience and heavy on ideological activism.

The trustees also rehired inexperienced and more expensive attorney Art Macomber to oversee three specific areas, “NIC policies, the college president’s summer 2023 evaluation and an investigation into an unspecified personnel matter.” Macomber recently raised his hourly rate from $325 to $400 in response to having been criticized by the public.

The three chaotic board members also authorized Macomber to negotiate on behalf of the college the terms of a possible $1.3 million settlement with an unnamed employee — who Macomber appears to also be representing. If true, Macomber has a glaring conflict of interest.

Administrative chaos is something very few talented professionals are willing to tolerate. In 2021, after President Rick McLennan was fired without cause, NIC board dysfunction prompted many department heads and deans to tender their resignations.

Last week, the continued chaos caused the chief human resources officer to resign. As a result, recruitment and retention of the depleted faculty and staff looks bleak.

While chaos and mayhem attract initial attention, this way of governing gets stale quickly — especially to voters.

We learned this recently from parents in the West Bonner School District.

Last week, West Bonner County School District voters wisely and resoundingly recalled two chaos-incubating trustees from their five-member school board. Much like the trustees at NIC, these trustees hired inexperienced ideologues rather than qualified leaders. Their chosen superintendent, Branden Durst, has a history of working with the Idaho Freedom Foundation, an organization wanting to dismantle public education. Their chosen attorney, D. Colton Boyles, is someone whose online rants speak loudly for themselves. Teachers quit in large numbers. With no time to replace them before the start of classes, the upcoming school year looks like it will be difficult for Bonner County students.

According to the Idaho Secretary of State, “the 63 percent turnout for the West Bonner Recall Election was unprecedented for an August election. The results were clear in the affirmative to recall two school board members.”

About 62.6 percent of the ballots voted for recalling Chair Keith Rutledge, and 66 percent voted to recall Vice Chair Susan Brown.

The community rose up — voters had enough educational chaos.

What’s more, it was clearly Republican voters who resoundingly led the recall efforts to such success. Of the more than 3,000 eligible voters in Bonner County, only about 250 are registered Democrats.

Initial vote counting showed overwhelming support for the recall. But in a cynical last ditch effort to undermine the will of the voters, the outgoing board scheduled a meeting, before their votes could be certified, to dissolve itself and delegate the right to appoint replacement board members.

Citizens again rose up. They obtained a court ordered stay of any board action pending final certification of the recall vote.

These two events provide some valuable take home lessons about education and politics in North Idaho.

Every destructive trustee at NIC and on the West Bonner County School Board was supported by Idaho Republicans.

Every one of these trustee’s actions damages public education through ineptitude and chaos.

These trustees' actions cost the taxpayers lots of money in inflated attorney fees and lawsuits. These trustees' actions make it harder than ever to fill faculty and administrator positions.

Each of their moves makes quality education harder to attain in North Idaho.

However, these trustees' actions galvanized local citizens to rise up. Bonner County parents spearheaded a “Recall, Replace, and Rebuild” campaign to save their schools. Kootenai County citizens formed “Save North Idaho College” to continue the fight for NIC’s survival.

These stories also draw attention to starkly differing views on education. Republicans put forth candidates for office who are dedicated to destroying the institution they pledge to support.

Democrats fight to increase school funding and school safety, they combat crises, and they advocate for mental health services and the human rights of all students.

This November, when local school board positions are on the ballot, we hope voters will resoundingly say, “No more educational chaos, please.”

That’s how we build a more perfect union.

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Evan Koch is chairman of the Kootenai County Democrats.