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Lowell Area Schools board approves routine business, equipment purchase and Cherry Creek safety contracts
Summary
The Lowell Area Schools Board of Education approved consent items (minutes, bills, new hires), overnight student trips, acceptance of a community donation, purchase of a new mower, and pending awards for Cherry Creek Elementary fire-alarm and access-control work at its Oct. 13 meeting.
The Lowell Area Schools Board of Education on Oct. 13 approved a package of routine business items and several procurement actions needed for operations and the Cherry Creek Elementary construction project.
At the start of its meeting the board approved the consent group — minutes for September, payment of bills, and personnel actions — including two new hires: Britney Germaine as a speech-language pathologist assigned to Bushnell (working with GSRP students) and Andrew Stuckey as middle school principal.
The board voted to approve a slate of overnight student trips that included the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis (October), the state FFA convention in East Lansing (March), an annual spring-break baseball trip to Clearwater, and preliminary recruitment for a 2027 Costa Rica trip. Board members discussed a corrected cost typo in the application for the Costa Rica trip and confirmed the itinerary and cost on the published materials.
A community donation from Michigan Hometown Furniture and Impact Church to update the eighth-grade work room at the middle school, given in honor of Darla Palmer, was accepted by voice vote. A board member described the donated furnishings and décor as “soften[ing] up that space” and a meaningful tribute.
Separately, the board approved purchase of a 2025 LS Z diesel mower from Wolf Kubota through the OMNIA Partners consortium for $66,795. Facilities staff said the mower’s 12-foot deck and wings should cut mower-hours during peak season by roughly 30–40 percent, reduce labor and wear on existing equipment, and fit on the district’s current trailer.
For the Cherry Creek Elementary renovation, the board authorized Owen-Ames-Kimball to issue notices of pending award and, upon receipt of required documentation, to proceed with contracts for two remaining categories: a fire-alarm system to Riverside Fire & Security LLC for $180,223 and access-control/intercom work to LaForce LLC for $261,340. The administration told the board the two categories produced two bids each when the bid window reopened; one bid in a category came in under estimate and one over, leaving the overall Cherry Creek project still projected to be under budget. Construction for the remaining scope is still set to begin around the district’s Christmas break.
All motions were brought forward and carried by voice vote; the meeting record notes the motions carried as presented.
