Nick Swayne has been reinstated as the president of North Idaho College.
The NIC Board of Trustees on Monday night voted to bring Swayne back after they had placed him on administrative leave in December. Swayne sued, claiming he was idled even though he’d done nothing wrong, and a district court judge agreed. Cynthia Meyer ruled on Friday that Swayne is the rightful head of the Coeur d’Alene community college and must be reinstated.
The leadership turmoil at NIC is part of the reason why the agency that oversees community colleges in the Northwest is considering whether to revoke the Coeur d'Alene college's accreditation.
The board also placed the man they’d chosen to replace Swayne, Greg South, on paid leave, something that didn’t sit right with Trustee Tarie Zimmerman.
“I don’t really understand why we’re putting him on paid administrative leave. I think we should actually terminate his contract. We have a president. We will, as soon as we follow the court’s order. We don’t need the services of Dr. South any longer," she said.
At that point, board chairman Greg McKenzie reminded her they had discussed the issue in executive session and asked if she wanted to go back into executive session. Zimmerman said she didn't see a need to do that. McKenzie immediately called for the question to vote on whether to move South to paid administrative leave.
Three of the five trustees voted to put South on paid leave. Zimmerman abstained. Trustee Brad Corkill voted against it.
