NIC board tackles legal bills, athletics budget

COEUR d’ALENE — North Idaho College trustees took unanimous action Wednesday night to seek new legal counsel, review the scope of the athletics program and address the numerous votes of no confidence the board has received from staff, faculty and student groups.

About 100 people gathered in the Lake Coeur d’Alene Room of the Edminster Student Union Building on campus Wednesday night for the board’s regular meeting, among them several former NIC trustees and other local elected leaders. Spirits were high before the meeting began, with many community members smiling and embracing.

The crowd gave a standing ovation when the Nov. 5 election results were read and new trustees Rick Durbin, Eve Knudtsen and Mary Havercroft were sworn in.

“In many ways, tonight marks a turning point, a new chapter for North Idaho College,” faculty assembly chair Kathleen Miller Green said when she addressed the board. “We come together at a time of transition, after years that have tested our resilience, unity and commitment to the values that define us.”

Miller Green said the faculty believes the new iteration of the board brings with it the opportunity for “healing, collaboration and renewal” after several years of turmoil and doubt about NIC’s future.

“We must honor the struggles of the past but focus on what lies ahead,” she said.

The board voted unanimously to name Brad Corkill the new board chair. Though he was absent due to illness, Tarie Zimmerman read a statement he had prepared, which addressed the 13 votes of no confidence made by campus constituency groups over the past few years. These votes are among the issues underpinning the show cause sanction issued by NIC’s accreditor.

Corkill thanked the groups for their commitment to the college.

“I am confident that, going forward, this board will treat everyone at NIC with respect and dignity,” Corkill wrote. “We cannot undo the past, but we can learn from it. Let us move forward with confidence and optimism.”

The three new trustees said they aim to build trusting and respectful relationships with staff, faculty and students.

“I know that words are easy,” Havercroft said. “It’s going to be take a while to earn people’s trust, but we’re committed to doing that.”

The board voted unanimously to give termination notice to college attorney Colton Boyles and the firm Eversheds Sutherland. Trustees also voted to order Boyles and Eversheds Sutherland to suspend all legal work for the college, effective immediately. Meanwhile, NIC will issue a request for proposals from qualified legal counsel.

Since his hiring in August 2023, Boyles has received $219,415 from NIC as payment for his work, according to the college. Between April and September of this year, Eversheds Sutherland has received $121,231 in payments from NIC.

“We must get these costs under control,” said Zimmerman, who was named vice chair of the board Wednesday night.

A recent report from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities pointed to the increased costs of NIC’s athletics program as a budgetary risk to the college.

Accreditors said the board’s 3-2 decisions to switch athletics conferences and cover all student athlete expenses have “placed a multi-million-dollar burden on NIC’s budget and a substantial hidden tax on NIC’s academic and student support services” and urged NIC to create a sustainable budget model for athletics.

To that end, trustees authorized NIC President Nick Swayne to work with athletics program leaders to review the scope of the program and report back to the board. Zimmerman said the board will honor the commitments NIC has made to any current student athletes.

“It is fair to say that every one of us believes that an athletic program enhances the experience that students have at North Idaho College,” Knudtsen said. “We’re committed to helping in any way we can to find a way to have a sustainable program.”

Zimmerman said she felt optimistic about the college’s future.

“I am so proud of this community,” she said. “We have so much to look forward to. We have done so much work tonight toward retaining accreditation.”

    A community member confers with NIC Trustee Eve Knudtsen before a board meeting Wednesday.