Nic Reacts To Crow’s Merger Idea Protest Continues After Lawmaker Leaves Meeting

Accusing him of building hysteria with a “phantom” merger concept, North Idaho College supporters vowed Wednesday to hold state Sen. Gordon Crow’s feet to the public fire.

The Hayden Republican has begun discussions about giving up NIC’s local administrative control to the University of Idaho. Such a move would take more than $5 million a year off Kootenai County’s property tax rolls.

Angry students, staff members and administrators criticized Crow for leaving NIC’s board meeting early with state Board of Education President Judith Meyer and UI Research Park Manager Doug McQueen.

Though Crow was at an earlier discussion session at NIC, he left the well-attended board meeting without hearing a word of emotional testimony about his merger idea.

The criticism began with interim President Ron Bell.

“Gordon Crow was here and now he’s not. The state board was here and now they’re not. The UI was here and now they’re not. I don’t want to get paranoid, but it’s just us now,” Bell said.

“I will not pull back. We must make clear to the public what a jewel they have in this college.”

Student Josh Buehner pledged to use his own money to fly to Boise and lobby against any effort to allow a merger between the two schools.

“It’s very unfortunate that Sen. Crow and other representatives of our community decided to take this issue as a political football and throw education around to score political points,” Buehner said.

Representatives of the NIC alumni association, faculty senate, executive council and staff also made public their disapproval.

Over the last six weeks, Crow has been talking to UI and state board officials about the possibility of merging NIC under the administrative wing of the UI.

NIC students and faculty heard about the merger idea for the first time Tuesday when Bell wrote a strident memo to the campus.

On Wednesday, Crow stressed that he’s only interested in civil discourse, not immediate action.

“Nothing is going to happen this legislative session. There’s a lot of different concepts out there,” he said.

At the beginning of the trustees’ meeting, Board of Education President Meyer attempted to calm jittery nerves.

“Nothing has changed. It’s the same old, same old,” she said, noting the state board’s desire to look at uneven funding and cost-effectiveness of community colleges.

After visiting with about 30 NIC employees at an open session Wednesday afternoon, Crow said he was heartened by their forthright and honest responses. “I think you are seeing the dialogue opening up,” he said. “This is the tip of the iceberg on the feedback.”

Crow’s comments proved prophetic after he left the board meeting early.

English faculty member Fran Bahr challenged Crow to make public the names of the business people he claims support his idea, noting they are not his only constituents. People “like my neighbors” need affordable access to education, she said.

“I want to know who is creating this groundswell and I want him to go to other people in the community and find out how they feel,” Bahr said.

Bill Nixon said Crow doesn’t represent the entire business community. “I’m a businessman and a farmer and I’ve got a view too. One thing we could do is elect somebody else who speaks for us,” Nixon said to applause.

Board member Robert Ely criticized Crow for trying to do away with local governance that has succeeded with programs such as NIC’s work force training center. And board member Barb Chamberlain upbraided Crow for choosing the outcome first and then manipulating the public process of getting it done.

“We need to hold his feet to the public fire,” Chamberlain said.

, DataTimes