MY TURN: Brent Regan’s DEI Smokescreen: The Real Problem at NIC is Greg McKenzie’s fiscal catastrophe

Brent Regan’s recent column attacking Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at North Idaho College is a cheap distraction from the real issue: Greg McKenzie and his board allies have blown over $1.8 million of your money and thrown NIC into chaos. Regan’s DEI fantasy is nothing but a cover-up for McKenzie’s reckless spending and disastrous decisions.

Brent Regan wants you to believe that the “NWCCU requires the full integration of DEI.” This is simply false.

DEI isn’t mentioned anywhere in NIC’s accreditation documents. The requirements for accreditation focus on resolving litigation, updating policies, employing one president (not two), and ensuring students, staff, and guests are treated respectfully.

The real crisis is McKenzie’s catastrophic decisions, sinking NIC into financial and legal chaos. Here’s a blunt breakdown of how McKenzie and the board have wasted your tax dollars:

• $500,000 — Paid out to former President Rick MacLennan after McKenzie helped fire him without cause. MacLennan sued, and taxpayers footed the bill for McKenzie’s costly mistake.

• $400,000 — Spent defending their illegal suspension of President Nick Swayne, which a judge called “hostile and arbitrary.” The investigation was labeled a “sham,” but that didn’t stop McKenzie from flushing hundreds of thousands down the drain.

• $75,000 — Wasted on the Gridley lawsuit, which was settled. Another example of McKenzie dragging NIC into unnecessary and expensive legal battles.

• $75,000 — Spent on Nick Swayne’s lawsuit to obtain the investigation into himself. McKenzie and his allies kept Swayne in the dark for months without explanation, racking up legal bills in the process.

• $55,000 — Thrown away on a bogus investigation into Swayne, which the court ruled was nothing more than a pretext to try to fire him.

• $200,000 — Paid to D.C. lawyer Stan Freeman because McKenzie’s handpicked legal counsel, Colton Boyles, wasn’t qualified to handle the accreditation crisis, nor did he have any prior experience representing a college.

• $200,000 — Paid to Colton Boyles, the least qualified of the applicants, for general legal services. This is more than NIC’s previous lawyer ever charged, and Boyles needs outside help to do his job.

• $35,000 — Handed to Greg South as a signing bonus after McKenzie hired a second president, even though Swayne was still legally the president.

• $235,000 annual salary was paid to the not-working Greg South, while McKenzie and the board created investigations, appeals, and other harmful distractions to great expense — and further jeopardized accreditation.

• $54,000 — Blown on housing stipends and moving costs for Greg South over 18 months. Another pointless cost that didn’t need to happen.

While Brent Regan and McKenzie scream about DEI, let’s talk about the facts: Last month, McKenzie voted to keep NIC’s affirmative action policies — policies that Idaho law now bans. So, while Regan pushes his DEI conspiracy theories, McKenzie is voting to keep the very policies Regan claims are destroying the college, perhaps as a wedge campaign issue.

Even more hypocritical, William Lyons, another candidate Regan supports, says he’s running against affirmative action at NIC … while standing in a photo with the only Trustee who voted to keep it on the books in violation of state law. The hypocrisy here is off the charts.

Let’s be crystal clear — NIC’s accreditation crisis isn’t about DEI. It’s about McKenzie’s incompetence and failed leadership. The NWCCU has pointed to the board’s dysfunction as the real issue. Over $1.8 million has been wasted on legal fees, bad hires, and pointless investigations — all thanks to Chaos McKenzie.

This November, the choice is simple: Vote for real leadership or let Greg McKenzie and Regan run NIC into the ground. Eve Knudtsen, Rick Durbin and Mary Havercroft are committed to restoring fiscal responsibility and fixing the disaster Chaos McKenzie has created. Be sure to vote for all three. Find out more about them at www.savenicnow.com.

Don’t let Brent Regan’s smokescreen fool you. He has never cared about the college like we do. Vote for Knudtsen, Durbin and Havercroft, and let’s get NIC back on track.

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Christa Hazel is a graduate of North Idaho College and former ASNIC president (1993-1994).