North Idaho College trustee candidates face community at forum

COEUR d’ALENE — With three of the five seats on North Idaho College’s nonpartisan board of trustees up for election Nov. 5, Kootenai County voters could shift the balance of power.

More than 200 people gathered Thursday night at the Salvation Army Kroc Center Theater to hear from the candidates in a forum presented by the Joint Chamber Public Policy Committee. ASNIC Student Government President Joseph Moran and ASNIC Vice President Blake Sanchez moderated the forum.

William Lyons and Rick Durbin will square off for the Zone 3 seat. In Zone 4, Eve Knudtsen looks to unseat incumbent Greg McKenzie. Mary Havercroft and Michael Angiletta are competing for the Zone 5 seat.

At the center of Thursday’s discussion was the show cause sanction NIC received from its accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, last spring.

Show cause is the last step before loss of accreditation. NIC has until April 1 to return to good standing; otherwise, the NWCCU will be required by law to take adverse action, meaning denial, withdrawal, suspension or termination of accreditation.

Durbin, who graduated from NIC, said he’s running in order to help the college return to good standing.

“I have such a passion for NIC. I couldn’t fathom our community not having NIC for generations to come,” he said. “This isn’t the fault of NIC. NIC is great and they’ve done a fantastic job. They have an amazing foundation. This is a result of the board majority.”

While NIC has resolved some of the issues outlined by its accreditor, areas of concern remain, specifically related to board governance. For example, the board must “resolve the issues underpinning all no-confidence votes” from staff and students.

McKenzie, the sole incumbent running to retain his seat, acknowledged the 13 votes of no confidence during his tenure and said the board has made efforts to address them. Several of the votes called on the board majority to reinstate NIC President Nick Swayne after voting 3-2 to place him on indefinite administrative leave for no disciplinary reason.

“When I first got elected four years ago, there was multiple votes of no confidence and some of them were on topics that people knew nothing about and massive smears in the newspaper, and it didn’t help when you have a president essentially advancing a narrative that your board of trustees is trying to burn down the college,” McKenzie said. “The president and the board of trustees are supposed to work together, and where we came from and where we’re going is, I think, a lot different.”

Havercroft said it will take time and sincere effort for the next iteration of the board to rebuild trust with constituency groups, including staff, faculty and students.

“We need to work as a board and as individual trustees,” she said. “Students will need to see that effort is being made and that things are coming from what their concerns are.”

Lyons said the board must focus on adhering to good governance practices in order to resolve the NWCCU’s remaining concerns. Conflict among trustees has gotten in the way of success, he said.

“I’m a firm believer that God gave us two ears, two eyes and only one mouth and most of the time, we use them in the wrong proportions,” he said. “I’m seeing that right now with the trustees that we have. There’s a lot of individuality. There’s not a give and take. There’s a lot of talking and not enough listening.”

Knudtsen emphasized NIC’s importance to the region’s economy. She likened the community to a three-legged stool supported by education, the workforce and local businesses. She said all three must be in place for the region to stand.

“My long-term vision for the college would be to see it continue to be the jewel in Kootenai County that it is now, for it to be a place where students can get more education, skills and training to go right into the workforce or to continue their education,” she said. “I see a great future for NIC in being able to fulfill a mission of student outcomes.”

All six candidates declared support for using tax dollars to fund higher education in Idaho.

Angiletta noted that the Idaho Republican Party added a plank to the party platform in June that opposes taxpayer funding for higher education. Current trustee Todd Banducci, who attended the state GOP convention as a delegate, stood in support of the change.

“I do support taxpayer funding for NIC, but it also comes with responsibility,” Angiletta said. “We owe it to the taxpayers, if we are going to take their hard-earned dollars, we’d better make sure it’s used for effect and positive impact in the community.”

    ASNIC President Joseph Moran speaks with former student body president Michael Habermann after the Thursday night forum.
  

    Eve Knudtsen speaks with Michael Angiletta Thursday night.