COEUR d’ALENE — The nonpartisan but hotly contested races for three seats on North Idaho College’s board of trustees remained undecided late Tuesday, with only about 5,300 ballots counted at press time.

Based on early voting results, Tarie Zimmerman was slightly ahead of Ron Hartman in Zone 1, garnering 2,344 votes to Hartman’s 2,117.

Zimmerman said she was optimistic.

“We had a lot of people in the community who have come out to vote when they normally might stay home,” she said Tuesday night. “I think the NIC race has been a driver in this election. Win or lose, we’ve made a difference in our community.”

Hartman could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

In Zone 2, Brad Corkhill led Diana Sheridan by a narrow margin. He had 52% of the vote, around 2,300. Neither was available for comment.

The Zone 5 contest between Mike Waggoner and Pete Broschet was even tighter at press time. Waggoner had received nearly 2,300 votes, about 51% of the total ballots counted.

“I’m feeling very positive,” Broschet said. “I think the community is very passionate about NIC and I’m hoping it’s reflected in the voting.”

Waggoner was not available for comment.

Two slates of candidates faced off in the general election, backed by two different PACs.

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee threw its support behind Hartman, Waggoner and Sheridan, while the Friends of NIC backed Broschet, Corkill and Zimmerman.

NIC’s accreditation has been at the center of the race, with each slate taking a different view on the matter.

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities sanctioned NIC with a warning earlier this year, citing persistent issues specifically related to the board of trustees.

The warning could remain in place until next spring, when accreditors are scheduled to conduct their next onsite review. In the meantime, the NWCCU is monitoring the college.

Broschet, Corkill and Zimmerman campaigned primarily on promises to protect NIC’s accreditation.

“We’re not out of the water and don’t be fooled by people who will tell you otherwise,” Zimmerman said last month at a candidate forum presented by the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce. “We have to have good board governance, bottom line. With good governance, we can solve the other issues.”

Hartman, Waggoner and Sheridan have maintained that the college’s accreditation is — and never has been — at risk.

“To keep saying it is threatened makes it like a current event and that’s not what I see when I look at the facts and that’s in front of us,” Sheridan said last month at the Mica Flats Grange Hall candidate forum.

County Clerk Jim Brannon told The Press Monday that he hoped to have final results by 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. Additional results will be reported on cdapress.com today and in Thursday's print edition.

This story has been updated to correctly attribute a quote to Diana Sheridan.