Schools request extension on payback to state

Superintendent Jim Golden has submitted a letter to Oregon Department of Education (ODE) requesting a three-year extension on payment on the $600,000 debt the district still owes ODE as a result of $1.2 million settlement in 2006.

ODE has indicated that they are considering the extension.

The district is scheduled to pay $100,000 per year for the next six years on the debt that resulted from inflated student numbers the Sisters schools reported when the district improperly included students enrolled in Sonrise Christian School (now Sisters Christian Academy) as part of the district's home-school program.

In May the school budget committee and the school board recommended that Golden request a dismissal of the payback. After some consultation with colleagues, Golden elected to ask for an extension rather than an outright dismissal.