COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A Kootenai County judge has ordered North Idaho College to immediately reinstate Nick Swayne as acting president of the college while a lawsuit Swayne filed seeking reinstatement moves through the courts.
In a written decision issued late Friday, Judge Cynthia Meyer declared that NIC trustees violated Swayne’s contractual rights when they voted 3-1 in December to place him on administrative leave for no disciplinary reason, and that they lacked the authority to do so.
"In the most charitable light, the Board’s initial decision to place Dr. Swayne on leave without cause can be characterized as misguided," Meyer wrote. "However, the Board’s decision to keep him on leave without cause is hostile and arbitrary."
Trustees Greg McKenzie, Todd Banducci and Mike Waggoner formed the majority that voted to place Swayne on leave. They did so at the urging of college attorney Art Macomber, who cited the need for an investigation into Swayne’s employment contract involving an alleged open meeting law violation that occurred months earlier related to the contract.
"The court notes that, when Open Meeting Law violations occurred in the December 5, 2022, and December 8, 2022, Board of Trustee meetings, the Board corrected those errors within weeks, not months, and without the Board placing Mr. Macomber on leave," Meyer wrote. "To the court, it appears that the investigation is sham and pretext for Dr. Swayne’s removal from his position as President. This conduct violates the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and constitutes sustained harm against Dr. Swayne by the Board."
NIC has since received a show cause sanction from its accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, triggered in part by the board’s decision to bench Swayne and hire an interim president. Show cause is the last step before loss of accreditation.
To read the full story, visit our news partner the Bonner County Daily Bee.
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