The MAGA-fication of North Idaho College

“They had been within the means of dismantling the establishment,” stated Tony Stewart, the secretary of the Kootenai County Process Drive on Human Relations, which drafted the criticism.

Mr. Regan argued that Mr. Stewart’s group, which shaped within the Nineteen Eighties to fight white supremacists who had been energetic in Kootenai County, had strayed removed from its mission.

“Have been there human rights violations occurring?” he stated. “No.” He known as the accreditation overview a “political” course of, “began by individuals who didn’t just like the outcomes of the election.”

Mr. Banducci’s bloc of trustees finally fired Mr. MacLennan with out trigger, putting in the varsity’s wrestling coach as interim president. An influence battle ensued, with the state training board at one level appointing a number of interim trustees who employed a brand new president. Within the November 2022 election, candidates backed by the G.O.P. committee as soon as once more claimed a majority and changed him, too.

The turnover has been cited by the accreditation physique, together with a number of votes of no confidence within the trustees from the faculty college and pupil authorities, as a supply of its concern. Sonny Ramaswamy, the fee president, declined to debate the accreditation overview, citing discussions with the varsity.

In November, Greg McKenzie, the present board chair, dismissed the prospect of dropping accreditation as “Faux Information” in a letter to constituents.

However on the February assembly, as that loss instantly appeared like a really actual chance, the trustees appeared considerably chastened. Mr. McKenzie reminded the gang that members of the accrediting fee had been watching by way of livestream and requested attendees to assist keep away from the circuslike environment of current conferences. In December, Vincent James Foxx, a far-right antisemitic podcaster who lives in Kootenai County, took the microphone to supply the bloc of trustees his “100% help.” That assembly was interrupted twice by hearth alarms.