Agenda - Council - 06/12/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. DeBruyn stated PACT Charter School stands for Parents Allied with Children and Teachers. Parent involvement is key to their program. The entire program is set up to provide parents the opportunity to have a voice in what goes on in the education, In addition to that, PACT has multi-grade classes, 1st through lih, which allows teachers to be with the kids for two years. They have smaller class sizes and a smaller school atmosphere. The kids can stay in the same school from kindergarten through 12th grade. Councilmember Dehen asked if the teachers are paid roughly the same amount as in the school district. Mr. DeBruyn replied the starting salary is around $32,000 with a maximum of about $50,000, which is pretty comparable with local districts. Ms. Levee indicated the teacher matrix was just redone to include a master's degree. Councilmember Dehen asked if the school draws teachers from the same pool as the districts and is getting top notch teachers. Mr. DeBruyn replied PACT has top notch teachers. They draw teachers who look for this type of environment where there is involvement with the parents and the kids and multi-grade teaching. Councilmember Dehen asked how it is determined who gets into the school with the waiting list. Mr. DeBruyn explained the law indicates it has to be done by lottery, and siblings get preference in charter schools. A lottery is held every April 15th to create the list for the next year. Councilmember Strommen asked if it is being proposed that the new charter school would be sponsored by Bethel. Mr. DeBruyn replied it is being considered by Bethel; the two main people have given an indication that they are very interested and have to get their committee to come to an agreement. Bethel would be their first choice, but there are several other options for sponsorship as well. Councilmember Strommen expressed the need to make sure there is communication with Anoka/Hennepin School District. She stated she wants to be sure not to do anything that would preclude a middle school being located at the old city hall site and having an open dialogue. Mr. DeBruyn stated he thinks they can work together to provide these services for the City of Ramsey. Ramsey will continue to grow, and this school will never be able to meet all the needs in the City of Ramsey. Councilmember Jeffrey stated he would be interested in learning how many Ramsey residents are included in the 1,750 waiting list. He noted only 20% of PACT's population comes from the City of Ramsey. He suggested if 50% of the waiting list includes Ramsey residents they could City Council Work Session / May 22, 2007 Page 3 of9