Several issues arising in the case of a former soccer and track coach at Sisters High School, who is suing the Sisters School District for the second time, are scheduled to be heard in court next week.

Niklas Goertzen first named the district in an unsuccessful lawsuit in 2012, alleging he was forced out of his position by parents and members of the school board. The case was dismissed in 2013.

Last year, Goertzen brought claims against the district alleging breach of contract, his attorney, Marlin Ard, wrote in an email Wednesday.

The parties are scheduled to appear in court for oral arguments May 13. The school district wants the suit dismissed; court records show Goertzen seeks punitive damages, alleging wrongful termination and other claims not brought forward when the suit was first filed in January 2014.

The school district maintains Goertzen was an at-will employee and that reappointment to his positions as track and soccer coach was not guaranteed, court records show.

“The district has filed a motion to dismiss the case in Deschutes County Circuit Court,” John Stellwagen, an attorney for the Oregon School Boards Association who is representing the school district in the suit, said in a statement Wednesday. “It remains the district’s position that Mr. Goertzen’s claims are without merit and should be dismissed.”

The school district filed a motion for summary judgment — essentially, asking that the case be dismissed — late last month. That request and others filed by Goertzen will be addressed in court May 13.

Claims against two individuals named in the 2014 suit, parents Merry Ann Moore and Robert Corrigan, were dismissed in August.

— Reporter: 541-383-0376,

cwithycombe@bendbulletin.com