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.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-takes-down-north-idaho-202629100.html