COEUR d'ALENE - It's officially Priscilla Bell's final year as president of North Idaho College, and it's going to be a busy 12 months.

Bell announced in May that she will retire when her contract ends in June 2012.

"From the board's perspective, this is not a lame-duck presidency," Bell said.

A look at the college leader's lengthy to-do list shows Bell shares that philosophy.

Recent economic and demographic changes in the region, and a new accrediting process, demand a new vision and long-range planning strategy, Bell said.

One priority is the development of a new strategic plan for NIC, to replace the five-year course of action that was devised and adopted in 2008.

"It's a good plan. We've stayed with it. We've revisited it. It's guided us well," Bell said. "But we

need to abbreviate it to a three-year plan, and start a new one."

College leaders have also determined, Bell said, that there is a need to better communicate NIC's long-range plan and facilities needs to the community.

Joe Morris, former head of Kootenai Health, and Patty Shea, Avista's regional business manager for North Idaho, have already been selected to co-chair the committee charged with rewriting the strategic plan. Community members will comprise two-thirds of the committee.

"We'll revisit the college's mission and values. Are they still right for today?" Bell said. "It will all tie into the changes in the region and the economy."

Capital programs will also be one of Bell's central focuses for the next year.

"The board has asked me to develop a good, solid plan for how we move forward with a capital plan that maximizes our current resources while investing for our future needs," Bell said.

Bell and her executive staff have already initiated some changes in that direction, mainly to accommodate the college's burgeoning professional-technical education programs.

NIC owns 40 acres on the Rathdrum Prairie, part of the Kootenai Technical Education Campus, adjacent to the land where the Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland school districts are in the process of building KTEC high school.

NIC plans, in the future when funding becomes available, to build a professional-technical education facility on the Prairie property, but the need for space exists now.

For example, Bell said, the college received federal start-up funds for a physician's assistant program, but has no space for it.

The graphic arts program ran out of room on NIC's downtown Coeur d'Alene campus, and has been moved to the Workforce Training Center in Post Falls. The college plans to move the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Academy for law enforcement to the Post Falls facility also.

Another area Bell will be looking at is the leases NIC holds on various properties throughout the area.

Other than the Workforce Training Center, which the college leases from the NIC Foundation, Bell said they will be trying to get out of some of those leases. Properties include space leased in the industrial park off Atlas Road in Coeur d'Alene, and on Ramsey Road, for the college's welding and recreational vehicle programs.

"We want to free up some of those operating dollars so we can use them for other needs like equipment," Bell said.

The development of the infrastructure on the mill site property will continue throughout Bell's final year.

"We will reinvigorate our efforts to get state funding for a joint-use building on that property," Bell said.

The college will also be looking at its use policies for campus facilities like the parking lots, the Schuler performing arts center and the student union building.

There are other facilities in the area that now rent space for events and meetings, and Bell said the college needs to be competitive while maintaining the public's investment in the campus facilities.

Through all the strategic and long-range planning, Bell said the college also needs to be cognizant of new standards and processes that have been set by NIC's regional accrediting association, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Other tasks include hiring a new vice president of community relations to replace John Martin, who is retiring at the end of December, and overseeing the implementation of the campus' new tobacco-free policy.

Another issue Bell plans to work on is seeing an increase in the reimbursement amount NIC receives for out-of-county students who attend the college. The last time the NIC saw an increase was in 1982. At this time, counties send, from their liquor sales proceeds, $500 per student per semester, up to a maximum of $3,000.

The college is already in discussion with the Idaho State Board of Education to address this.

Regarding legislative issues, Bell thinks the state funding picture for community colleges is beginning to improve.

During the next legislative session Bell anticipates several issues will come up that will affect NIC, including the reintroduction of legislation to allow guns on college campuses. Bell said Idaho colleges and universities will unite against this. "The big elephant in the room is the College of Western Idaho," Bell said.

Idaho's newest community college, with campuses in Boise and Nampa, has seen dramatic growth, and is expected to soon have 8,000 full-time students.

Because the college just opened in January 2008, they have a very low local property tax levy rate, Bell said. Taxing districts in Idaho can only increase their budgets by a maximum of 3 percent. "How is the state going to fund CWI, and will it come at our expense?" Bell said.

Bell knows she won't be able to reach every goal she has set for herself, but she plans to get as much done as possible. For items she isn't able to see to completion, Bell plans to leave the groundwork in place so her successor can get the job done.

Bell is the first woman to lead NIC and its eighth president.

She was hired as president in 2007 to replace Michael Burke, who left to accept a position at San Jose City College in California.

Prior to joining NIC, Bell served as president of Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash., from 2000 to 2006.

She plans to remain in Coeur d'Alene after she retires.

She's confident that college employees will continue to work with her to achieve as much as possible during the next year.

"I have a great executive staff, and I'm enthusiastic," Bell said. "I love my job. I love the college. I love the people I work with, and I love this community."