COEUR D’ ALENE, Wash. — All three Republican-backed candidates—Eve Knudtsen, Rick Durbin and Mary Havercroft—have won their elections to the North Idaho College Board of Trustees.
Knudtsen believes the new board members’ shared vision will help ensure the future success of the college.
“Now there’s five of us that have a similar definition of what the role of a trustee is,” said Knudtsen.
With the election results in for Kootenai County, the new trustees are ready to address significant challenges.
One of the most pressing issues is the college’s accreditation, which is currently under a “show cause” sanction from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
Knudtsen emphasized the importance of maintaining the college’s accreditation, which provides credibility to its programs and degrees.
“We’re going to be focused on how we sustain all of the programs at NIC going forward, while still being responsible to the taxpayer,” said Knudtsen.
The board has a deadline until the end of 2024 to resolve the accreditation issue.
The Republican-backed candidates, including the Save NIC Now group, are hopeful that this new leadership will steer the college in a more positive direction after a turbulent period marked by conflicts with the previous board majority.
Christa Hazel, an organizer with Save NIC Now, stated, “We have four years to make a real difference and rectify all the harm that was brought to us by Todd Banducci and Greg McKenzie’s board majority.”
The trustees are committed to improving the college’s standing and moving it forward while ensuring it remains accountable to the community and taxpayers.
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
