Pelican Rapids board approves ParentSquare contract; adopts election polling‑place resolution and accepts donations

The Pelican Rapids Public Schools board voted to approve a contract with ParentSquare, a district communication platform the presenter recommended after problems with the district’s prior alert pipeline.

Mr. Matthews told the board that the previous chain — SkyAlert (Skyward) → SchoolMessenger → PowerSchool — had resulted in a deactivated account and unreliable emergency alerts. He said ParentSquare offers mass‑notification capabilities that call, text and email parents in a prioritized sequence and that the district plans a phased rollout that will eventually include a two‑way parent‑teacher communication app. "It's a very comprehensive, very robust platform that we're excited to roll out," Mr. Matthews said.

Mr. Matthews described implementation billing and ongoing costs: an implementation bill to be sent after finalizing integration (he estimated the implementation charge at about $1,100) and an ongoing per‑student fee of about $4, which he said would be approximately $3,700 based on 860 students (figures provided as estimate by district staff).

The board moved and approved the ParentSquare contract by voice vote; board members recorded votes in favor.

On other business, the board adopted a resolution establishing combined polling places for school district elections that are not held on the date of a statewide election and designated Pelican Rapids City Hall as the combined polling place for the named precincts. The board also read and adopted a resolution accepting donations (donor names and amounts were read into the record).

The meeting concluded with announcements of upcoming meetings (Jan. 5 reorganizational meeting at 6 p.m.; Feb. 9 regular meeting at 6 p.m.) and a unanimous vote to adjourn.