When Great Bend USD 428 Superintendent Brad Reed needs to talk Great Bend High School Principal Tim Fries on the phone, it’s not a direct call. The easiest way to get through is to call an outside line.Bad connections and dropped calls are also a problem, he told the school board last Monday, explaining the need for a new telephone system.The system is “old and outdated and antiquated,” Reed said. “What we’ve got is a hodgepodge, all over the district.”The school district is Great Bend’s biggest single employer, with more than 700 people spread out over about a dozen buildings.