Judge takes down North Idaho College board again over firing of president. ‘It is a sham’
A judge on Wednesday denied a request by the North Idaho College Board of Trustees to reconsider an order forcing the college to reinstate its president.
Kootenai County District Court Judge Cynthia Meyer upheld her March 3 preliminary injunction requiring the college to keep Nick Swayne as president for the remainder of a lawsuit he filed against the board. Swayne said he was placed on administrative leave without cause in December.
Far-right candidates backed by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee gained a majority on the board last year, and that majority suspended Swayne while Art Macomber — a losing candidate in the Republican primary race for Idaho attorney general last year — initiated an investigation into the terms of his contract and the circumstances of his hiring.
“If the court was not clear in its preliminary injunction motion issued on March 3, 2023, let it be clear now,” Meyer wrote in her decision last week. “This was an attempted de facto termination of Dr. Swayne and it was not done in good faith. This protracted investigation into the formation of the contract with Dr. Swayne — whether the investigation involves potential missteps of others or even the current concern with the legality of the four-trustee vote to terminate the president — is a pretext for getting Dr. Swayne out of the way. It is a sham.”
Macomber’s investigation lasted more than four months and resulted in a report alleging open meeting violations by former board members.
In response, the board last month voted to undo the June 2022 decision to hire Swayne to fix the open meetings violations alleged by Macomber.
Swayne, however, remains in his role as “acting president.”
After the board nullified Swayne’s contract, Swayne’s attorney filed a motion for contempt. A hearing is scheduled for June 2.
Meyer wrote that even if an open meeting violation occurred during the formation of Swayne’s contract, any effort to nullify his employment agreement is time-barred under Idaho law.
The intended conclusion of Macomber’s investigation was evident from the beginning, Meyer said. Thus, the board had 14 days to act after recognizing the supposed open meeting violation on Dec. 8.
“It is unfathomable,” Meyer wrote, “why it would take months for the college attorney to determine whether, in his view, there was an open meeting law violation in the June 2022 time frame regarding the selection of college president. It took days for the same attorney to determine there was an Open Meeting Law violation at the December 2022 board meeting when Dr. Swayne was first put on administrative leave.”
The board fixed the December violation later that month by voting a second time in public to place Swayne on leave.
Meyer wrote that Swayne likely will prevail on the merits of his lawsuit.
After Meyer ordered in March for Swayne to be reinstated, the board placed the previous interim president, Greg South, on paid administrative leave.
A new majority took control of the board in the November elections. The previous majority supported Swayne.
