Photo by Deb Gau Bruce Lamprecht said changing technology has affected his job as director of business services at Marshall Public Schools. But not everything in his job is digital — as could be seen from the folders of work papers surrounding him earlier this week.

MARSHALL — The month of June is normally a busy time for him, Bruce Lamprecht said. The fiscal year for school districts starts in July, so there’s plenty of year-end work to do.

But this spring in particular has been “kind of a whirlwind,” Lamprecht said. He’s been doing his normal work as Marshall Public Schools’ business director, in addition to preparing for retirement.

Lamprecht will be retiring after nearly 25 years with the school district. In some ways, he said, it’s not going to be an easy move.

“Mixed emotions, is how I would phrase it,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years, and now all of a sudden the time has come.”

However, he said his work for the school district will be in good hands, with his successor Dion Caron and the MPS district staff.

“This is not a one-person operation, by any means,” Lamprecht said.

Lamprecht said he and Caron have been meeting regularly, to help transition Caron into his new role. Caron was a member of the Marshall School Board, but earlier this month the board accepted his resignation to become business director.

Lamprecht’s career hasn’t always been in finance — in fact, he started out working in the hospitality industry. Lamprecht said his first full-time job was as assistant director of food service, while he was a student at MSU-Moorhead.

“That’s how eventually I came to Marshall,” Lamprecht said. In 1978, he became food services director at what is now Southwest Minnesota State University, and then went on to manage the Best Western hotel in Marshall for 12 years.

Lamprecht said he enjoyed working in hospitality. People will respond right away when you’ve done a good job with a meal or an event, he said. But the hours were long and difficult.

Lamprecht said it was his wife Vicki who let him know that the Marshall school district was looking for a business manager.

In considering a career change, he said, “I tried to do a balance sheet” of positives and negatives. He’d always had an interest in education, Lamprecht said. “I finally made a decision, and I said ‘Let’s go for it.'”

Lamprecht was hired on a part-time basis in 1993, and became the school district’s full-time business manager in 1994. While the position had similarities to his previous jobs, Lamprecht did face a learning curve during his first couple of years with MPS.

“You learn to be patient,” he said, and to network with knowledgeable people. Even today, he said, “I’ve never felt I know everything.”

While at MPS, Lamprecht has been through some major milestones for the district. He’s worked with four different superintendents, and has worked on preparations for both operating referenda and bonding referenda for the district.

There were both successes and failures, especially with proposed school building projects, over the years. The planning and bonding referenda leading up to the construction of the current Marshall High School was a process that stretched from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, Lamprecht said. Voters turned down the first proposal.

“I’ll never forget when I went out to the site,” when the high school was finally being built, he said. “I thought, ‘This is really happening.'”

As the head of MPS’ business office, it was important to be a good steward of taxpayer money, but also to help students get a good education, Lamprecht said. Over the years, community partnerships have been important to MPS. Lamprecht said one of the other big changes at the school district has been the establishment of the Parent Student Connectors.

“Our demographics have changed over the years,” he said, and the Parent Student Connectors have helped get kids and families in those new demographics involved with the schools.

One thing Lamprecht said one part of his job that he won’t miss is being one of the people helping to decide whether to close school for severe weather. It’s a tough call, he said.

“You’re never going to be 100 percent right,” he said. “I’m not going to miss making that decision.”

Lamprecht said he was glad for the people he’s met and worked with while being part of MPS.

“I think it’s an honor to be able to serve others,” he said. Even as a retiree, he said, “I hope to continue to serve, just maybe in different areas for different things.”

An open house will be held for Lamprecht on Tuesday, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Marshall Middle School cafeteria.