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April 10, 2026

GLPS Families,

Welcome back from spring break! It was great to see kids and staff back in the buildings this week. We kicked off state testing season with PSAT and SAT this week, and we welcomed more spring-like weather than we have had lately. As I have done the last few weeks, I am going to focus my update today on our school improvement goals, highlighting our last focus area, operations. This encompasses all of the non-people parts of our district, from equipment, to buildings and grounds, to all of the systems that serve them. 

As you know, our mission is Growing Learners and Preparing Students, and while that happens through the educational process, it happens in our instructional facilities. We have been able to provide significant upgrades through our current bond program, from a new Wacousta to the district restructuring to increased safety throughout the district, and we appreciate the support that our community has provided us through this process. We are now winding down the 2018 bond program, and as good stewards of the community’s resources, we need to look ahead at continued needs over the next five years. To those ends, we are currently partnering with architects TMP and construction managers Clark Construction to develop that plan, which could include a potential zero mill increase over our current rates bond proposal to enhance our instructional facilities. We spent the winter working with our partners and helping them get familiar with our needs, including those listed here from an October 2025 presentation. Now, we have reached a point where we would like to share our thoughts with you, our families, staff, and the community. To those ends, we are hosting two community forms, and would like to invite you to attend. Please see the flyer below for more details, and if you plan to attend, please RSVP at GLcomets.net/RSVP so we can maximize participant engagement:

This planning aligns perfectly with our strategic plan, as our operations focus area states that GLPS will continuously assess and improve operational needs to support a safe learning environment. Under this focus area, we have four goals, which are:

We are making progress on each goal, and we are continuing to examine our systems and practices to ensure that they are being met. For example, we know that transportation has experienced issues this year with cancelled routes and trips. The team has worked hard to address those, and we are now fully staffed, including relief drivers. When it comes to facilities, our facilities management plan is continually updated, and it is driving much of the work we will share at the community forums referenced above. As for alarms, we are partnering with a brand new alarm company this year for both building and fire monitoring, and they have provided upgrades and updates that have expanded and improved our systems. Finally, our maintenance and grounds team are working on systemetizing a work order system that will allow us to better respond when issues arise, but more importantly, proactively address situations before they become problems.

Many of my updates focus on academics, and while operations can seem like a separate area, we know that kids cannot learn if their facilities do not support them. Thank you for all you do to support our district with our facilities needs, and thank you for allowing us to work with you and your students every day. I truly appreciate the opportunity that we have to serve all of Comet Country, and as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!

Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools