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<br />Mr. DeBruyn stated PACT Charter School stands for Parents Allied with Children and Teachers. <br />Parent involvement is key to their program. The entire program is set up to provide parents the <br />opportunity to have a voice in what goes on in the education. In addition to that, PACT has <br />multi-grade classes, 1st through lih, which allows teachers to be with the kids for two years. <br />They have smaller class sizes and a smaller school atmosphere. The kids can stay in the same <br />school from kindergarten through lih grade. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen asked if the teachers are paid roughly the same amount as in the school <br />district. <br /> <br />Mr. DeBruyn replied the starting salary is around $32,000 with a maximum of about $50,000, <br />which is pretty comparable with local districts. <br /> <br />Ms. Levee indicated the teacher matrix was just redone to include a master's degree. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen asked if the school draws teachers from the same pool as the districts and <br />is getting top notch teachers. <br /> <br />Mr. DeBruyn replied PACT has top notch teachers. They draw teachers who look for this type <br />of environment where there is involvement with the parents and the kids and multi-grade <br />teaching. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen asked how it is determined who gets into the school with the waiting list. <br /> <br />Mr. DeBruyn explained the law indicates it has to be done by lottery, and siblings get preference <br />in charter schools. A lottery is held every April 15th to create the list for the next year. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen asked if it is being proposed that the new charter school would be <br />sponsored by Bethel. <br /> <br />Mr. DeBruyn replied it is being considered by Bethel; the two main people have given an <br />indication that they are very interested and have to get their committee to come to an agreement. <br />Bethel would be their first choice, but there are several other options for sponsorship as well. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen expressed the need to make sure there is communication with <br />Anoka/Hennepin School District. She stated she wants to be sure not to do anything that would <br />preclude a middle school being located at the old city hall site and having an open dialogue. <br /> <br />Mr. DeBruyn stated he thinks they can work together to provide these services for the City of <br />Ramsey. Ramsey will continue to grow, and this school will never be able to meet all the needs <br />in the City of Ramsey. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated he would be interested in learning how many Ramsey residents <br />are included in the 1,750 waiting list. He noted only 20% of PACT's population comes from the <br />City of Ramsey. He suggested if 50% of the waiting list includes Ramsey residents they could <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / May 22, 2007 <br />Page 3 of9 <br />