COEUR d'ALENE - Mic Armon wants to serve another term on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees.

Armon is the first candidate to announce he will be filing the paperwork necessary to get his name on the Nov. 6 election ballot.

In his 12th year on the board, Armon said his decision to run again is largely based on the level of experience and understanding he has gained.

"I feel that there's a pretty steep learning curve. It takes a couple of years to really understand how NIC works and understand the community connection," Armon said. "I've been doing it a long time."

Armon was appointed to the board in 2000 and elected to a six-year term in 2002. He ran unopposed in 2008, and is completing the final year of a four-year term.

Since November 2010, Armon has served as chairman of NIC's five-member board.

"Being board chair has really helped me truly understand things, especially the budget," said Armon, a certified financial planner with 30 years of experience in the investment industry.

With a new president on board at the college, Armon said he feels his experience as a trustee is needed on the board as the new college leader settles in. Joe Dunlap was hired to replace Priscilla Bell who retired at the end of June.

"I think we've been fiscally responsible. This last year we didn't take a huge tax increase and we've worked to keep tuition down," Armon said.

Armon said he was in California recently and saw that community colleges there have increased tuition by 50 percent.

"That's devastating to students. We're still the best value around," Armon said.

The 2012-13 budget was approved by the board last spring with a 1 percent tax increase and a 3 percent increase in tuition and fees.

Armon is vice president/branch manager for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Coeur d'Alene. He previously served on the Coeur d'Alene Rotary board and is past president of the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce.

There are two other NIC board seats up for election in November. Those seats are now held by Judy Meyer and Ron Vieselmeyer. Those incumbents have not yet announced whether they will seek re-election.