Lisa Watson

Northwest College’s new interim president will receive a compensation package that’s about 14% smaller than the one provided to outgoing President Stefani Hicswa.

The NWC Board of Trustees approved the employment contract for Interim President Lisa Watson during a special Nov. 19 meeting. College officials released a copy of the contract on Wednesday in response to a public records request from the Tribune.

The one-year contract offered to Watson provides: an annual salary of $194,000; a vehicle for official use and personal use within a 100-mile radius of Powell; and the benefit package granted to all full-time college employees.

Included in the contract is a clause that allows for termination without cause, with 60 days written notice. That clause was included so the college could theoretically hire a permanent president before the one-year term is complete, NWC Board President Dusty Spomer has said. Should the termination clause be executed prior to June 1, Watson will be fully paid through May 31.

In an interview last month, Spomer said there “was no one more suited for the position than” Watson, who has served as the college’s vice president for administrative services and finance since 2014.

“... I think I can speak for the board when I say we’ve been very happy with Lisa [Watson]’s performance,” Spomer said. “And nobody knows our current situation as Lisa does.”

NWC’s top position came open last month, when Hicswa resigned to take a job as the chancellor of Montana State University-Billings. She went on leave Nov. 11.

Hicswa’s contract had last been updated in September 2018. Her package included a $199,000 salary and a $22,000 housing allowance, along with the vehicle and standard NWC benefits. Before the signing of that contract in 2018, Hicswa had been the lowest-paid college president in the state, then-NWC Board President Nada Larsen said at the time, “and that was not acceptable.”

Hicswa’s contract also included a retention bonus of $36,000, if she had remained as president through June 30, 2021. However, her last official day at the college is Jan. 8.

As an interim position, Watson’s contract contains no retention bonuses.

A committee is expected to begin working this month toward finding a permanent president. Spomer said that, while there are no certainties, he hopes the board can make an offer and bring a candidate on board by the fall 2021 semester. Spomer said Watson would be considered for the position should she pursue it, but said she would not be given special preference over other candidates.

Watson previously served as interim president at Miles Community College in Montana, from May 2013 to January 2014.