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December 13, 2024
GLPS Families,
As we wrap up the middle week in the three week stretch between Thanksgiving and winter break, we continue to have outstanding things happening around GLPS. Concerts, celebrations, and events around the district and the community really make these weeks fly by!
For my update today, I want to share some construction updates with you, as we continue to work through our bond projects. However, I also want to remind you of the following message that was sent out in various ways from various buildings, and ask that you take a few minutes to complete our school improvement survey, if you have not already done so. If you have already completed the survey, please do not take it again.
Help Shape Our School Improvement Plan!
We value your input! Please take a few minutes to complete our Family School Climate Survey. Your feedback will directly inform our Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP), which guides our district’s efforts to create effective strategies for student success. Thank you for partnering with us to make our schools even better!
As for construction projects, our projects at Willow Ridge and at Hayes are off and running. We apologize for the noise and mess that comes with renovations and new builds, but it will certainly be worth it once the work is complete. Here are some pictures of the progress on the projects. As a reminder, we are adding new classrooms and secure entrances at Willow Ridge and Hayes, and we are adding a new road that runs behind Hayes to alleviate traffic issues on Nixon. Hayes construction will begin soon, but has not started yet.
Finally, at Monday’s board meeting, the GLPS Board of Education approved updates to our list of priority projects, based on funding available and needs within the district. The updated bond priority list can be found here. The updates approved Monday night are as follows:
- Create a secure entrance with a vestibule at Neff - Neff is the only building that did not previously have a plan for a secure entrance, so we would like to address that. This is a relatively small project in scope and cost, but an important one, as it will provide a secure entrance at every building in the district.
- Add the additional six classrooms to Wacousta - As you may remember, because of our budgets at the time, we made Wacousta a three section building (able to accommodate three sections per grade level). As we were planning in the spring of 2022, we had around 380 students at Wacousta, so that worked. We even planned overflow spaces to accommodate some growth. However, this fall, we have over 450 students in the building, so we have utilized all of the extra spaces available. If we have four sections of kindergarten next fall, as we have had for the last two years and we have in our other buildings, we will officially be out of space in the fall of 2026, given our current numbers. We have funds available to add the classrooms to make Wacousta a four section building like the other three elementary schools, and we pre planned the building to easily accommodate new classrooms in a cost efficient manner if funds allowed us to add them. If you recall, we even put the dotted lines for these classrooms on the maps of the buildings we shared with you throughout the project in hopes that we would have enough money to add them before we got to the end of all of the bond work. We plan to have the classrooms open for the 2026-2027 school year with minimal disruption to programming at Wacousta. The reality is that we could use extra classrooms in all of our buildings, but Wacousta’s needs are the most urgent, and because of the thoughtful planning in the design and construction process, and good stewardship of the bond dollars, the most easily added.
- Build a school building on the Dave and Betty Morris Property - In order for us to secure the property that was gifted to us by the Dave and Betty Morris estate, we need to have a plan for a school building on the site by August of 2025. We have had a number of brainstorming sessions with our administrative team, and we are asking our architects to design a structure with two classrooms, a restroom, and a large open area with overhead doors, much like what was shown in the original conceptual drawings in the bond. We have a number of good ideas around programming, including STEM, ag, careers, and outdoor education, so we will continue to flush those out. There may be opportunities for extracurricular spaces there as well. We will be seeking additional community input as we move toward spring, so stay tuned!
The only items left on the priority list are multipurpose gym/instructional spaces at Willow Ridge and Delta Center and refurbishment of the high school science labs. At this time, we do not have enough money to take on these projects. However, we will continue to work on a plan for the science labs in hopes of refurbishing those labs in the future.
Because of the strong construction and fiscal leadership of our bond team, we are proud that we are able to continue this important work and live up to the promises made in the 2018 bond. These projects will build on the success of our completed and current development, and we are very thankful for the support of you and the broader GLPS community.
Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns; as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!
Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools
