New fire alarm system will save Lancaster School District money
By Anna Jauhola
Lancaster School will again be tied directly to the sheriff’s department for emergencies.
During the regular school board meeting on Wednesday, May 21, the board approved a contract with Advantage Systems Group out of Grand Rapids, Minn., to install a new fire alarm system.
“We need some kind of service that will alert us if it’s detecting there is water running somewhere in the building, or if there’s a fire,” said Superintendent Nicole Thompson. “This system was recommended to us. It will call and tell us if it’s sensing something.”
The one-time cost to install the system is $585, and there is a monthly monitoring cost of $47.50.
Board member Mike Whitlock asked whether Johnson Controls would still perform the annual check, as the company just completed that check recently.
“We’ll be talking about that in a second,” Thompson said.
“My biggest question is how much is this going to cost to have someone else come in?” Whitlock said. “To me, before we accept this proposal, we need to find out how much a company’s going to cost to go through (the system) every year if Johnson Controls is not.”
Thompson addressed that proposal next, for which administration received two – Johnson Controls quoted an annual fire system inspection for $2,552.78; Advantage Systems Group proposed an annual fire system inspection for $750.
“OK! I just thought we should have that information before we accepted this,” Whitlock said.
The board approved the Advantage Systems Group quotes for both the fire protection system, which includes the installation and monthly cost, and for the annual inspection.
In other business, the board:
• Approved advertising for a part-time Title teacher as Andrea Sele is taking on the READ Act lead role, which includes extra work like screenings for students at risk. While the part-time Title role will focus on math, the person hired could also help with other reading and literacy duties.
• Heard the staff will continue with the McGraw Hill Wonders reading curriculum through 2027, as the district has a subscription. However, they will implement UFLI, a supplemental reading curriculum, and later implement Amplify when the previous subscription is done.
• Certified the graduating class of 2025 – Zander Anderson, Kyleigh Campbell, Grace Faken, Edy Hilman, Rachel Levenhagen, Veronica Martinez, Neveah Nicholson, Brooks Nordin, Mylie Olson, Lily Peterson, Miranda Peterson, Kaden Seurer, Joie Stenmark, Berlyn Strege, Jack Whitlock and Lauryn Whitlock. Graduation was on Friday, May 23 at 5 p.m.
• Approved a $5,000 donation from the Lancaster Endowment Fund School Association (LEFSA) to help pay for new concrete in front of the main school entrance.
• Approved a one-year contract for Dean of Students/Activities Director Mark Bernstrom. His salary for the 2025-26 school year will be $65,000.
• Approved a contract adjustment from nine months to 12 months for Heather Anderson who works in the kitchen, but also does the summer meals program and custodial duties during the summer. Her salary will increase to $20.08 per hour for the 25-26 school year.
• Hired Heather Rodin as the summer rec assistant at $13.10 per hour.
• Approved summer school teacher contracts for Macy Cosley, Emma Sjostrand, Lemuel Licup and Alaura Janse van Rensburg, each at $25 per hour.
• Approved the final reading of the 2025-26 student handbook.
• Approved the annual Minnesota State High School League membership.
• Approved a new student activity fund for the Foreign Travel Club.
• Heard there will be a citywide cleanup, including the athletic complex, on June 3 and 4.
• Heard from Dean of Students Mark Bernstrom the third graders had money left over and decided to purchase two apple trees to plant outside the school. Bernstrom helped the class do this on Thursday, May 22.
The next regular board meeting will be on Wednesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. in the superintendent’s office at the school.
