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<br />an opinion from the attorney general's office. He stated that Mr. DeBruyn indicated that his <br />legal counsel would get him some information within a few days and this would be passed on to <br />him. He stated that they. waited for this information for over 3 weeks and no information was <br />received. He stated that, in his opinion, PACT is entrenched in a position contrary to law and <br />was unwilling to follow that law for the upcoming year, so he recommended that they commence <br />action to preserve the status quo by requesting that no lotteries. take place. He stated that he <br />wanted to proceed quickly to get a ruling from the courts and does not regret taking that action. <br />He stated that after this, they obtained the actual taped discussion of the relevant charter school <br />amendments. He stated that he and Mr. Look discussed this matter with City Administrator <br />Ulrich and it was decided to bring it to the work session for an update last week. He stated that <br />he did not think there were any delays in bringing the issue to the Council. He stated that his <br />personal belief is that when the past Council approved the PACT school coming to the City, it <br />did not have all the information regarding enrollment benefits or lack thereof to Ramsey <br />residents. He stated that he feels PACT is "cherry picking" its student body, which he believes <br />is elitist and disadvantages Ramsey residents. He stated that he believes that the actions of the <br />school's administration should be looked at and not just its statements because he feels they will <br />reveal their true intentions. He stated that the requests for answers from he and Mr. Look went <br />unanswered by the PACT school and the opinion of the Minnesota Department of Education was <br />ignored, despite their being the supervisor of public education. He stated that Councilmember <br />Elvig noted at the work session that he was sold on the direct benefit to Ramsey residents as <br />enrollees in PACT and was unaware that this was not happening. He stated that he feels that the <br />PACT school is not giving Ramsey residents options. <br /> <br />Mr. Cairns stated that he did not come to the meeting tonight to argue this case, but questioned <br />the action of the 2 Councilmembers stepping down from the Council table and seemingly <br />switching hats and loyalties by speaking at the podium. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that, to be clear, he had asked Councilmembers Dehen and Look to step <br />down from the table, it was not their decision. <br /> <br />Mr. Cairns stated that nobody has a right to ask for an opinion from the attorney general's office, <br />only an attorney can do that. He stated that his question for the Minnesota Department of <br />Education is why they didn't ask the attorney general to give an opinion. He stated that he feels <br />Councilmember Dehen is wrong and PACT is right, in their interpretation of the law. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that about a year ago when discussions began about a possible <br />second PACT school, he supported some preference for Ramsey residents and he stands by that <br />opinion today. He stated that he questions the wording of the resolution that the Council <br />endorses the interpretation of Statute 124D and asked how the City can support an interpretation <br />before the courts give a ruling. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich stated that the Council can take a position, but he doubts it will influence <br />the court. <br /> <br />City Council / April 8, 2008 <br />Page 12 of 20 <br />