State gives Sisters 10 years to pay

The Sisters School District finally has some good news regarding the $1.2 million it must repay the state for a disallowed homeschool program. The Oregon State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo has agreed to withhold overpaid State School Fund dollars (SSF) over a 10-year period instead of the five-year withholding schedule previously stipulated.

Assistant state superintendent Susan MacGlashan informed Sisters School District superintendent Elaine Drakulich of the state's decision by telephone on Tuesday, January 15.

"They (the Sisters School District) appealed. We reviewed their appeal, and we concluded they made a compelling case to lengthen the repayment period. Our objective was to balance accountability for correct spending of SSF dollars with the financial situation of the district," MacGlashan told The Nugget.

"This is huge for the district," Drakulich said, who likened the five-year plan to a balloon payment schedule that started at the $200,000 level and escalated to over $400,000.

"It continued to grow in five years," said Drakulich. "You can see if a $200,000 piece is difficult to address without cutting (programs), it was impossible to not cut programs with a $400,000 reduction three and four and five years out."

According to Drakulich, the Oregon legislature in the last biennium worked hard to provide the state's public schools with improvement funds to bring growth.

"But that wasn't going to be in the picture for Sisters with the original pay schedule," she said. "If we were going to pay back with that escalated plan, realistically, it was going to entail cutting," she said.

Drakulich presented her argument directly to Castillo weeks ago, asking for a response during January, prior to the start of the district's budget process. Board member Christine Jones assisted the district in crafting its appeal.

"Chris' World Bank experience is very, very positive for us. She is very, very strong with numbers and the financial picture," said Drakulich.

Although no specific withholding schedule has yet been provided to the district by Castillo's office, according to Oregon Department of Education Communications Director Gene Evans, the 10-year payment schedule will stipulate equal payments.