Albert Lea School District will no longer have a police officer at Southwest Middle School starting next fall.

Superintendent Mike Funk told the Albert Lea school board Monday evening that the elimination of the position, currently held by Jay Crabtree, will be a financial savings both to the Albert Lea Police Department and the school district.

“He’s been a valued individual for a number of years at Southwest,” Funk said.

He also said the district is concerned about finding ways to still provide that support to Southwest, and the Police Department has said it will provide regular patrol to Southwest.

There remains a police officer at Albert Lea High School.

The board also heard about a possible large-scale upgrade to the district’s network from Jim Quiram, director of human resources and technology. Quiram said the district’s current system of servers is archaic and not ready to handle if a system breaks down.

TIES Consulting did a technology audit on the district in 2010 and found that hardware was outdated, there were problems with security and myriad other issues. Since then, the district has upgraded some hardware, gotten wireless Internet throughout the district and installed a redundant firewall and filter, among other small fixes.

Quiram said that to truly upgrade the entire network and have a system that’s the best fit for the district it would cost almost $200,000. About $150,000 is in hardware for servers, and labor makes up most of the rest of the cost. That total cost doesn’t include any backup servers, which the district would likely need.

Quiram wasn’t asking for any decision from the board Monday night but wanted it to be aware of a problem that may need to be fixed. Lori Volz, the district’s director of finance and operations, recommended that if the project is approved to have the hardware costs taken out of this year’s budget and the labor costs out of next year’s.

Board member Jeshua Erickson said the plans sounded cutting edge but said he was worried about the district’s expertise with the new system. Quiram said that TIES Consulting specializes in educational institutions and would be available to help the district with issues.

In other action the board:

• Approved letting out school one day earlier for Hawthorne Elementary School and Brookside Education Center in 2011-12, Sibley Elementary School and Southwest Middle School in 2012-13 and Halverson Elementary School and Lakeview Elementary School in 2013-14. The extra day would allow teachers and staff some time to pack up their rooms before each summer-long heating and ventilation upgrade projects started. Funk said contractors want to start work the day after school gets out to be done in time for school to start in the fall, and teachers were worried about time to get classrooms ready.

• Heard from Funk and Volz that more than 180 staff members had signed up for biometric testing, a test from an outside vendor that checks height, weight and draws blood to test cholesterol and other issues. Volz said other districts have seen improved health from year to year after staff are able to get the yearly health assessment. Board member Jill Marin asked where the funding for the test comes from, and Volz said it is built into the district’s health insurance. Employees who participate also get a $75 stipend, which is funded by a wellness grant.