By Christine Erntson, marketing and communications coordinator
February 28, 2022 | 2 p.m.
PACT staff and committees continue to put in the work required to expand in the fall of 2023. Here is an update:
Site Plan and Approvals
The Facilities Committee continued to work on the physical plans for the new site. They are meeting weekly and have completed the building's footprint (site plan) and selected a general contractor. The site plan has been sent to the City of Ramsey, where it went before the Ramsey Planning Commission on February 24, 2022. The Commission voted 3-1 in favor of the plan, and it now moves to the Ramsey City Council. The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at the Ramsey Municipal Building. Once approved by the Ramsey City Council, the Metropolitan Council will need to approve the site plans. While this is all happening with the city and districts, the Minnesota Department of Education is also looking at the information for approval. Once all these groups approve, the PSC Building Co. will be able to secure bonding which allows us to finalize the land purchase and start building. We hope to complete bonding by July 1, 2022.
Executive Director of Secondary Education
The Executive Director Search Team interviewed four candidates in February 2022 and moved three forward to the PACT School Board of Directors for consideration. One candidate decided to withdraw from consideration. The School Board of Directors interviewed the two potential candidates in a special meeting on February 23, 2022. One candidate has moved forward for further consideration at the March 3, 2022, meeting. This new position will start on July 1, 2022, to help in the planning process for fall 2023.
Elementary Campus
The current PACT building will become an Elementary Campus (K-5) in 2023, and renovations are also part of our expansion plan! The hope is that during the summer of 2022, needed renovations will happen on the bathrooms, and some external updates with signage will be completed. During the summer of 2023, full renovations will be conducted to re-work the Secondary classrooms into Elementary classrooms, reconsider office spaces, create another playground, and more. Those discussions started with Pope Architects in February.
Staffing
Staffing will need to double across K-12 between 2023 and 2028, including teacher, para, and school support roles. While we are aware of the challenges in finding teachers, we feel PACT is unique, and there is a culture that a choice school can give them. We have plans to attract these teachers through partnerships with universities, in-house job fairs with on-the-spot interviews, participation in regional job fairs, and an upgraded webpage dedicated to the benefits of working at PACT.
Enrollment
The current expansion plan allows PACT to increase our grade sizes by 100% between 2023 and 2028. Our 2022-2023 lottery had increased interest, and we saw an increase in lottery applications. We are optimistic about filling our classrooms during our expansion as excitement builds in the Ramsey community.
How You Can Help
A marketing and enrollment plan is awaiting final expansion approvals and the opening of the lottery application. The best marketing plan is always word-of-mouth as a choice school, so please help us spread the word. This includes positive reviews on websites like Niche, GreatSchools, Facebook, and Google; and sharing posts and information with friends and family. Note: Google is experiencing issues with our ratings and comments showing up, so we have opened a case with them.
Also, please participate in ImPACT Night meetings! Our committees have been intentionally created for the overall benefit and needs of PACT, but without parent involvement, our committees are not as successful. We need parents helping with events, fundraising, programming, and budgets. Unfortunately, there is too much work to be done and we can’t do it without you!