North Idaho College will pay its former communications director Laura Rumpler $20,000 to settle a federal lawsuit.

Rumpler sued the college last year, alleging the board and president created an “unsafe” and “toxic” work environment that led her to resign in September 2023 amid the college’s accreditation crisis.

“NIC categorically denies any and all wrongdoing or liability in the matter,” NIC said in a news release Friday. “The decision to settle the case was based on the best interests of NIC, avoiding the high cost and distraction of litigation, and maintaining a positive path forward.”

Rumpler will get $14,000 and her attorneys will get $6,000, the settlement agreement says. NIC’s board of trustees signed the agreement in February. As part of the agreement, Rumpler agrees not to disparage NIC.

The lawsuit is not one of the three previously mentioned as an accreditation concern by the college’s accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Those suits, involving public records and open meeting law, have been resolved.

Last month, NWCCU removed the sanction NIC was under for board governance problems since 2022 and granted the college a one-year extension to bring a few remaining issues into compliance.