Dispute between parent and school going to court

A mediation session last week failed to resolve the dispute between Sisters School District and parent John Shepherd.

School Superintendent Ted Thonstad said he and Shepherd “had a good conversation” during the two-hour meeting with mediator John Gapp, but didn’t achieve any resolution of their differences.

Shepherd has filed suit in the small claims division of Deschutes County Circuit Court asking the school district to pay $2,928 for the tuition his son Jonathan will be charged as a full-time student at Central Oregon Community College this year. Jonathan would be a senior if he were to attend Sisters High School (see a full description of the suit on page 3 of The Nugget, February 22, 2006.)

The court traditionally asks the parties in small claims cases to submit to mediation in an attempt to settle their conflict without going to a full-fledged hearing before a judge. This saves the courts time and expense.

In this instance, however, the conflict will be sent to court. A trial date is expected to be set for about six weeks from now.

The mediation session was not subject to press coverage. Court Administrator Ernest Mazorol denied a request from this reporter to sit in because the conflict involves a public entity (the school district) and a public official (the superintendent).

Mazorol said that state law makes all mediation sessions confidential. They “may only be attended by the parties and the mediator.”