It’s time for Page Two: News that might not make the front page for Friday May 8, 2026.
Glacier View School prepares for closure. This didn’t stop the community from gathering to say goodbye and thank you to their beloved principal.
Principal Wendy Taylor retires this year. She served 30 years at Glacier View School as both teacher and administrator. The community celebrated her and her retirement earlier this week.
Banners emblazoned with “The Legend” and green and gold balloons decorated the auditorium. Students performed piano music and sang for Taylor at their spring concert.
An emotional Taylor told the audience that she feels loved. She credited her success to support from the community. She said her time at Glacier View School were the best years of her life.
Taylor came to the school as a young teacher in 1996. Five years later, she became principal. She has held that role since then.
Glacier View Parent-Teacher Organization president Pat Schroeder gave Taylor a hand-painted picture of the school. He asked the community to sign it.
That way, he told Taylor, they can imprint her gift just as she has imprinted their lives.
Glacier View School serves kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is scheduled for closure as part of the School District budget cuts. The final budget and cuts were decided last night.
Borough assembly members voted five to two yesterday to convert the school building into the Glacier View Community Center. How the borough-managed center will be operated and details about use fees have not been announced.
School staff was reduced last year to two from four due to an enrollment drop to about two dozen students from more than 50. If the school had stayed open, enrollment next year was expected to be less than 14.
Community members say they attended the celebration on Tuesday because their community shows up for each other, just as Taylor has showed up for them.
Dorothy Hrncir is a former student of Taylor’s. She later became a Glacier View School staff member. Hrncir said Taylor dedicated her life to the school. Taylor saw generations of students come through the school. She supported families and guided staff.
Hrncir said that kind of impact is not loud. It is steady. And it adds up to something significant.
Last month school district officials said that students who stay in the district will be bused more than 40 miles. Elementary students will attend school in Sutton. Middle and high school students will go to Palmer.
Several parents at the ceremony say the bus ride for their students is not something they are willing to do. One family plans to leave the state to be closer to family.
Schroeder says his family plans to move to Anchorage for better school and job options.
He added that other families with young children not yet in school are moving out too. They need to find other opportunities for their children. They’re looking at what’s ahead.
This story was originally reported by the Mat-Su Sentinel.
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This Page Two article was reported by -Emily Forstner and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Friday May 8, 2026.
Photo credit – Mat-Su Borough School District