In a series of chaotic December 2022 meetings, the North Idaho College Board of Trustees majority placed President Nick Swayne on indefinite administrative leave for no disciplinary reason and hired Coeur d’Alene attorney Art Macomber as college counsel.

The board then hired Greg South as interim president, offering him a salary of $235,000 per year on a contract running through at least June 2024. Swayne had been hired as president in August 2022 with an annual salary of $230,000.

The decisions were made by the three-member board majority of Todd Banducci, Greg McKenzie, and Mike Waggoner. Trustees Tarie Zimmerman and another board member opposed the actions.

Swayne responded by filing a lawsuit against the college, arguing his contract did not allow the board to place him on leave. The lawsuit would prove successful, with a Kootenai County judge ordering his reinstatement in March 2023.

The college now had two presidents on payroll simultaneously, a situation the accreditor would cite as a significant institutional risk.