MY TURN: NIC enrollment growth happened despite trio

Mike Waggoner’s “My Turn” portrayal of events at North Idaho College while he, Todd Banducci and Greg “Chaos” McKenzie were on the board of trustees is self-congratulatory claptrap. It’s laughably dishonest for any of them — especially McKenzie — to now claim they have fixed a single problem at NIC when they are the root cause of the issues that brought the college to the brink of losing accreditation.

The greatest damage inflicted upon NIC by this board-majority trio occurred when McKenzie was chair. Shamelessly, he is the only one of the three seeking reelection. 

There has been no “renaissance” of trustee behavior, but rather a lowering of the standard for productivity and civility; so low that when the board passes meeting minutes without monthslong delays it is lauded for its commendable success. 

Let’s be crystal clear: The NWCCU (the college’s accrediting agency) cited the board meetings of Dec. 5, Dec. 8, Dec. 10 and Dec. 21 of 2022 as the reason they put NIC on a Show Cause sanction (the final step before a college loses accreditation and the ability to administer Federal Financial Aid to students). The Dec. 5 meeting was McKenzie's first as chair, and at that time NIC was on a warning from the NWCCU, the lowest level adverse accreditation action the accreditor takes against a college. Within just 17 days, under McKenzie's leadership, the NWCCU bypassed probation, the next level of adverse action, and moved NIC right to Show Cause.  

Losing accreditation for any college is a death sentence. NWCCU has repeatedly and specifically cited the inept and ridiculous board governance actions taken by then-chair McKenzie, Banducci and Waggoner as the greatest threat to retaining accreditation. 

And what were these actions: Over the course of these four meetings, after apparent earlier open meeting law violations, Trustees McKenzie, Banducci and Waggoner hired their crony, Art Macomber, as general counsel for NIC, took over operations of the college by rescinding two college policies, and manufactured a crisis (that has since been thoroughly investigated and debunked) in order to justify placing President Swayne on an extended administrative leave. During the process to investigate the “crisis," Macomber (at $340 per hour) went so far as to subpoena 15 trustees and employees in order to try to find some dirt and justify placing President Swayne on administrative leave. 

Then, McKenzie, Banducci and Waggoner illegally hired a second president, Greg South, to whom they gave a multi-year contract to the tune of more than $350,000 per year including a $30,000 signing bonus, $35,000 in moving expenses and a $3,000-a-month housing allowance. He “worked” for less than two months of his 18-month contract but was on NIC's payroll the entire time. McKenzie, Waggoner, Banducci and their attorney Macomber orchestrated this contract so it had no exit strategy that would protect the college (and taxpayers) from having to pay this second president's salary while he was not working, even after the District Court judge reinstated President Swayne. 

In addition to the Show Cause sanction from the NWCCU, these actions from the voting block of McKenzie, Banducci and Waggoner, coupled with the legal guidance of Macomber, resulted in two lawsuits, a misguided appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court and ballooned legal expenses for the college. Estimates place those costs at more than $12 million. 

I, along with the rest of the community, have witnessed dysfunctional board governance, board meeting after board meeting after board meeting, after board meeting, after board meeting, characterized by marathon-long and chaotic trustee performances, complete with personal vendettas, ego-driven diatribes, temper tantrums and witch-hunt-worthy searches for evidence of wrongdoing where none exists. 

We have also witnessed McKenzie’s crew once again delving into operations to require that the college balloon the athletic budget to give full-ride scholarships to every single student athlete. ($2 million + $4 million = $6 million.) This is absolutely unsustainable and NIC will be dealing with its fallout for years. This truly could end up being the McKenzie crew’s most lasting legacy. 

And now here we are. 

Back to the Future: As the Aug. 30, 2024, report to the NWCCU states, “It is equally clear, however, the board needs to continue to exhibit behaviors that will give further evidence of meeting the Eligibility Requirements and Standards set forth by the NWCCU in order to return to good standing.” 

NIC recently had its last visit by NWCCU reviewers Oct. 14-15. It will be interesting to see how they view the board’s “progress.” I’m willing to bet that they don’t think it’s visionary or a "renaissance." 

I, for one, cannot let go of the fact that it is patently false for any of the majority board member trio to say that they are the reason for the increase in enrollment at the college this fall. 

The truth: This remarkable enrollment growth at NIC has happened DESPITE the work of McKenzie, Banducci and, yes, Waggoner to undermine President Swayne and college operations. 

The real heroes of the enrollment turnaround are North Idaho College’s staff, faculty, administrators and students who have persevered, put their collective heads down, and got the job done, because those in the trenches knew how close McKenzie and crew put the college over a tipping point. Credit also goes to Trustees Zimmerman and Corkhill, who refused to go along with the dumb actions taken by the board majority. 

For Trustees McKenzie, Banducci and Waggoner to attempt to take credit for any successes at NIC when their actions have been a constant barrier to those successes is outrageous. Please vote and save our great college.

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Mike Gridley is a Coeur d'Alene resident.