| Anoka group revives ‘Thriller’ for Red Bull Flugtag crowd |
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The “Back for the First Time” team hauled their flying coffin in a full sized semi truck to reach Harriet Island for the Red Bull event. Submitted photo
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One of the more creative endeavors to hit Minnesota since the milk
carton boat race began some 39 years ago entertained, launched, flew
and ultimately floated as Red Bull brought its Flugtag event to Harriet
Island July 24.
| Ramsey council tables PACT Charter School resolution |
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| Wednesday, 16 April 2008 | ||
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Staff writer Although it was considering adopting a resolution that endorses and supports a Minnsota statute wouldwould require PACT Charter School to give Ramsey residents preference, the Ramsey City Council voted 5-1 to table it after two hours of input from PACT families and community members. Look and Dehen both have children on the school enrollment waiting list. This is a judicial issue, not a legislative one, said Ramsey resident and PACT parent Dan Schultz. “It is in the council’s best interest to wait for the judicial interpretation,” he said. When the school was created in Anoka 12 to 13 years ago, “we built school with blood and sweat,” said Jim Zawistowski of Nowthen. It came to Ramsey four years ago “...looking for fairness and equality, (meaning) no one butts in – no politicians or lawyers – everyone waits their turn, no one butts in line,” he said. He has known coaches who have worked for the school for years that have waited to have their children admitted, said Zawistowski. “PACT was not built as a community school. It was built as a school of people with common educational philosophy,” said PACT parent Jill Lundstrom of Coon Rapids. It was created by parents who were home schooling, which requires an amazing amount of commitment, both in time and money for supplies, she said. “It remains a school that requires, or begs, a large time commitment from its parents,” said Lundstrom. Lundstrom said opening the school to a larger community will not allow it to sustain that commitment. “People will send their kids to PACT because it is convenient, not...because of educational goals,” she said. The council is “choking on a flea and swallowing a camel,” said Jack Hudson, Ramsey resident and PACT parent. The purpose of charter schools is to provide additional educational options, he said. “Every time you close down an option, you reduce the amount of educational quality in the state,” said Hudson. Hudson asked the council to not lose track of the overall focus of the law and to wait and let the lawsuit play out. Ramsey resident and PACT employee David Gustafson has had three children go through PACT and has two more on the waiting list. Although it would be tempting to have residential preference, he doesn’t see how preferred preference would serve Ramsey, he said. While he is not a resident, Ramsey business owner and PACT parent Chris Soderholm said the council will be sending a negative message to business owners if it approved the resolution. “According to PACT Administrator Dan DeBruyn, the city had no expectations {when the school moved to Ramsey} and knew Ramsey students would have to go through the lottery for openings,” said Soderholm. According to PACT information, openings are filled first with students who have a siblings already attending the school and to students who live within two miles of the school and five miles of the closest school serving their grade level. Look has a son entering kindergarten, a grade not offered at Ramsey Elementary School, according to the court papers. If PACT has more applicants than openings for the two preferences, both are put into a random lottery, according to PACT. A separate lottery of students without preference is held to fill any remaining openings. If there were no expectations when PACT moved in four years ago, what kind of message is it sending to community businesses by forcing a change, said Soderholm. This resolution would not force the change, only a law change will do it, said Councilmember David Jeffrey. If it has no impact, why do the resolution, said DeBruyn. Ramsey residents are welcomed at the school and about 20-25 percent of the student body is from Ramsey, he said. They all came through the lottery system, said DeBruyn. If approved, the council will be sending the 420 students and families not from Ramsey the message that they are not welcomed here, he said. The second and stronger message would be to District 11 and Elk River school districts, which have served Ramsey residents for years – ‘thank you for taking our kids, we don’t want your kids.’ It’s what people are interpreting it as, said DeBruyn. “I don’t think the council is considering the long-term messages being sent,” he said. This action is also sending a negative message to Anoka-Hennepin and Elk River districts’ parents, said Ramsey resident Vicki Atkinson. That perceived message is that two council members do not believe those districts are good enough for their children, she said. The lawsuit brought by Look will harm PACT, said PACT parent Jeff Baumann of Coon Rapids. The school could likely pay around $50,000 for the lawsuit, he said. There has been talk of eliminating kindergarten to make the problem go away, said Baumann. From the bench “This is not a black and white issue,” said Councilmember David Elvig. “What is being asked for is more participation be available for Ramsey students.” According to court papers, the school has 156 students on the kindergarten waiting list and only 36 openings. Of the 156 children, 26 are not from the city, but have siblings at the school and the 50 Ramsey students do not meet the proximity preference. With the current preferences, Ramsey students have a 7 percent chance of getting in, said Look, who temporary stepped way from his council seat. PACT is the one school in Ramsey that offers kindergarten and grades 6-12, he said. Ramsey students in those grades are bused to other cities to go to school, said Look. Look asked the council to support the resolution which supports the interpretation of Minnesota Statute 124D that requires PACT Charter School to give enrollment preference to Ramsey students before accepting non-residents pupils by lottery. Students from other communities have other school options, he said. According to court documents, PACT argues the statute requires that it give to preference to “towns.” But a letter addressed to Sen. Michael Jungbauer from the Minnesota Department of Education indicates “town” and “city” are interchangeable for the statutory admission preference. “It should be in the interest of all parties that the law is followed,” said Look. Look, through attorney Dehen, has sought a judicial review and interpretation of the statute. When the statute was approved in March 2000, it was addressing issues in an incorporated city, said Dehen. Dehen said PACT has mistakenly or intentionally ignored the residency preference. With the preference in place, it would increase Ramsey students’ chances of getting in the school to 50 percent rather than 7 percent, he said. “(I) believe this public charter school is using the law to cherry-pick its student body. That I believe is elitist and disadvantages Ramsey residents by not giving them a choice or severely limiting their choice,” said Dehen. While he does not support the resolution, Jeffrey said he does support some sort of preference for Ramsey children in the lottery system. The council needs to wait until the courts weigh in, he said. The city has helped and supported the school from the beginning and it held up its side by helping PACT negotiate with the developers to offset the costs, facilitate the bond and zoning issues, said Elvig. While he does not support the resolution because it is the cart before the horse, Elvig said he remembers as the town center task force chairman and a council member being part of conversations in 2002-2003 where preferences were discussed, he said. He also recalls asking what the benefit was for Ramsey to help PACT, Elvig said. And he took a lot of heat because the first building into Ramsey Town Center was a tax-exempt and the city would never see revenue from the $11 million building, he said. Councilmember Sarah Strommen said she does not remember conversations on preference from that time and she believes the resolution would divide the community. It is asking the council to take sides and support a particular interpretation of Minnesota law, which is not the council’s role, she said. Strommen was the only council member voting against tabling the case. “I oppose the resolution now and I will oppose it later,” she said. The courts Although the lawsuit sought an injunction to prevent the PACT lottery from occurring, the school had its lottery April 14 after an Anoka County District judge denied the injunction. According to its Web site, the lottery was done two ways - the traditional way with sibling and proximity preferences and the second lottery was done with Ramsey residents and siblings. The Web site says the lottery was held both ways to let parents know whether or not their children could be admitted. The judge is expected to make a ruling on the preference issue in 45 to 90 days, according to the school’s Web page. Tammy Sakry is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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