Can Ramsey still hold town hall meetings?

Ramsey has a Town Center. It has town homes. But Ramsey is not a town -- it's a city. And after an Anoka County judge's recent ruling, nobody is more aware of that distinction than Ramsey City Council Member Matt Look.

Look sued the PACT Charter School in Ramsey in a challenge of its admissions policies. He argued that state law requires if a charter school is the only school "located in a town" that offers a specific grade level, residents of that town get admission preference for that grade level.

But the PACT school administrator said the rule does not apply because Ramsey is a city. And Anoka County Judge Tammi Frederickson concurred when she ruled:

"Creating an admissions preference that applies to only charter schools located in townships may be an underinclusive policy. However, the court's role is limited to interpreting a statute, not passing on its 'wisdom and utility.'"

"The word 'town' is widely used in today's society," Look said. "We feel this [judge's decision] was the easy way out."

Still, Look said he prefers to look at the judge's ruling as an "everybody wins" conclusion. The PACT administration can feel justified, he said. And in the end, Look's 5-year-old son was selected for admission to the school -- through a lottery.

"We got what we were looking for," he said.

Still, John Dehen, a fellow city council member and Look's lawyer, has let his client know the deadline for filing an appeal.

And during an interview, Look said of the school: "There's more deception than I would think with a public institution."

Ramsey has no school within its borders that offers kindergarten or grades 6-12, and Look became concerned when he learned that of the 156 applicants for kindergarten spots at PACT, only 36 names would be accepted -- many of them through a lottery.

But the odds of getting accepted are far less than 36 in 156. Twenty-six of the children selected are siblings of PACT students -- and under current rules, those students are given preference over Ramsey residents.

Look's lawsuit appeared to be a moot point when he learned that his son's name had been selected in the lottery. Look was elated, and yet he was skeptical. When he learned that other families received a notice with a deadline for confirming that they had accepted admission, he complained he had never received such a letter.

"No, we double-checked," school administrator Dan DeBruyn said Thursday. "He was sent a letter. It was done by e-mail. I checked into it."

Look said that when he finally did receive a notice, he was shocked to see that the deadline was the following day.

"That's not much time to make a decision," he said. "We signed up our son. At least we still have options."

DeBruyn said that the signup notice included a clause that said if responses weren't received by the deadline, the school would follow up with a phone call to the family.

Look said has been contacted by a few PACT parents, some anonymously, "who have warned that my child will be ostracized."

"Even an idle threat has to be taken seriously," he said.

DeBruyn promised that "nobody's going to mark any child." He added, "It's time to let the healing begin."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419