Facilities Updates

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker
Dear staff, students and families,

We are excited to share an update related to several facility and school-related projects, including our district office, transportation garage, future auxiliary gym at Shuksan Middle School and Parkview Elementary.

District Office

In January, we shared with our extended community the idea of moving the district office to the Barkley district, and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. We engaged with the public via email, phone and in-person meetings, including a community forum at the district office on Feb. 26. While some neighbors have wonders about the future of the office building on Dupont Street once sold, many community members say they prefer the plan to relocate to Barkley for the financial savings and better accommodation of future growth, both for office space and parking capacity. Based on the input we received, we plan to move forward with plans to relocate the district office to the Barkley district. We anticipate planning and building could take about two years.

Transportation Garage (aka “bus barn”)

When voters approved both of our 2013 and 2018 bonds, they approved funding to renovate an existing building where we maintain and repair our school buses at our transportation site at 1801 James Street. These interior renovations include improved service bays, vehicle hoists, fluid and air distribution, parts and tool storage, restrooms, break room, heating and ventilation systems, electrical systems and building envelope (windows, roof, etc.). We will go out to bid for this project soon. If you have heard about this project, you may find our FAQ helpful, which addresses frequently asked questions, including details about the project scope, property lines and inquiries about relocating our operations.

Shuksan Gym

The Shuksan Auxiliary Gym Planning Committee met in November and December and hosted a student forum and neighborhood meeting to receive input regarding plans for a new auxiliary gym. The new gym will be located at the back of the school adjacent to the bus loop. The gym will contain a full-sized basketball court, two middle school courts, spectator seating, equipment storage and restrooms that are accessible from inside and outside the school.

Parkview

Planning continues for the replacement of Parkview Elementary. The Parkview Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee is reviewing site and floor plans from Zervas Architect and looks forward to taking refined plans to the Cornwall neighborhood and Parkview school community later this spring. The good news is we’re still on target to open no later than 2022.

Alderwood

Planning continues for the replacement of Alderwood Elementary.  The work of the Alderwood Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee can be found here. A pre-application meeting was held with county and city staff last month to identify various permitting requirements for the project. The committee will reconvene next month once there is more clarity on a few land use issues.  As with Parkview, we’re still on target to open no later than 2022.

Other Projects

While no formal planning has taken place on the new Sunnyland Elementary School that work will get underway early next year allowing for the new school to also be open by 2022. We are forming an advisory committee to help with our turf field project (phase II) at Squalicum High School, which includes new soccer, baseball and softball fields.  We anticipate the new fields to be complete by late fall 2019.

Thanks as always for your continued support regarding our capital projects and school facilities, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions or wonders.

Greg Baker

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear Families and Community,

I want to share an update on the work we’re doing and progress we’re making on our capital projects and school facilities. These improvements and rebuilds are possible thanks to the support of our local voters who passed our bonds in 2013 and 2018.

Our new Central Kitchen, located at 2005 Alpine Way in the Irongate neighborhood off Bakerview Road, is nearing completion and should be done by Oct. 31. We are eager to begin delivering on our Good Food Promise to “encourage a lifetime of healthy eating by preparing and serving students nourishing, delicious, whole foods.” By early 2019, we will be able to provide more healthy scratch-cooked meals for students. The new Central Kitchen will have state-of-the-art equipment including space for receiving; dry, freezer and refrigerated storage; cooking and vegetable preparation; blast chilling; as well as a training/conference room, offices and restrooms. See our progress here and learn about our design team here.

Forest School is a new program for third graders that we’re starting this school year at the Gordon Carter Environmental Education Site. This new field trip is a cooperative program between our district and North Cascades Institute. Well water rules changed recently, which will allow us to resume plans to add infrastructure for student learning and outdoor experiences at the Envir Ed Site, including potable water, electricity and a septic system. Design work will start this year, and we plan to begin both infrastructural improvements and construction of a new large group facility in the summer of 2019.

You may remember that back in June we announced we were targeting early completion for the new Sehome High School building. We are still ahead of schedule, and our plan is to move staff and students into the new school at semester break in January. This is no easy task, and I want to give kudos to our contractor Dawson Construction, and recognize Dykeman Architects, all of the subcontractors, and our staff, including the staff at Sehome and our capital projects and school facilities team. The new synthetic turf baseball field will be done by early November, and the rest of the Sehome site (including parking lots and other turf fields) will not be complete until fall of 2019, which is consistent with our original timeline. You can see photos of our progress here or watch our work zone web cam.

Other quick updates: We continue to examine options for district office improvements, including getting an appraisal for a potential new site. Our Alderwood Design Advisory Group and Parkview Design Advisory Group met last spring, and we’re currently working with the city and county on some complexities around land use. We are still on target to complete Alderwood, Parkview and Sunnyland rebuild projects by fall of 2022. Click here to see a complete list of ongoing capital projects.

Greg Baker

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear Families and Community,

I want to wish you a safe and restful summer. This has been an amazing year in Bellingham Public Schools with great progress in so many areas, including an improved high school schedule, new start and end times with a focus on adolescent health, a 1:1 technology roll-out, and probably most importantly, higher graduation rates for all students, particularly our Hispanic students, students who receive services for ELL and special education, and/or those who qualify for free and reduced meals (based on their families’ income). Thank you for all you have done to help deliver on and support The Bellingham Promise.

Facilities Update

• Due to the incredible efforts of our contractor, Dawson Construction, we are targeting early completion for the main school of the Sehome High School rebuild. The Dawson team, architects and our staff are working ahead of schedule, and we think it’s a real possibility that our staff and students could be moving into the new school at semester break in January. The rest of the Sehome site (including parking lots and fields) would not be complete until fall of 2019, which is consistent with our original timeline. We will share more detailed timelines and plans when we return to school. You can see photos of our progress here or watch our work zone web cam.
• We are excited to reexamine our plans to develop our property near Lake Whatcom at the Gordon Carter Conservation Site. Recent rules have changed, which will allow us to resume plans to develop and add infrastructure for student learning and outdoor experiences. Design work will start this year, and we plan to build a new large group facility in the summer of 2019.
• Our District Office is on the list of facilities to be improved/rebuilt thanks to the voter-approved bond in 2013. This would require staff members to relocate temporarily for two years while we remodel our current building on Dupont Street. We have recently been approached by local property owners regarding some ideas of different sites for the district office that would be less expensive and avoid relocation costs. We will continue exploring these ideas over the upcoming months.
• Click here to see a complete list of ongoing capital projects.

Curriculum Adoption

I have accepted recommendations made by the Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum Advisory Group and Middle School Science Adoption Committee to purchase and adopt new curriculum materials for next school year. The social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum includes Caring School Community (for elementary) and RULER (for middle school). The new science curriculum for middle school is Amplify. Click on the committee links to learn more about the advisory groups’ engaging and thoughtful processes.

Budget for 2018-19

It’s an interesting time for school districts across Washington state as we plan for next year and beyond. We are presenting the budget for the 2018-19 school year to the school board in the coming weeks, and while our budget shows the state directing more money to us to fully fund education, the amount of money we can collect through local levies is decreasing dramatically over the next couple of years (you may have heard of this concept called the “levy swap”). For part of the year, we retain our current higher local levy which results in “one time” funds that will not be sustained, posing a challenge for us and many other districts statewide. Given these complexities, we have worked hard to build a budget that balances the need to keep our district financially solvent over time, and at the same time addresses important immediate issues of increased salary and benefits for district employees, staffing needs in the schools, and one-time costs associated with things like curriculum, materials and equipment.

Thank you again for another inspiring year, and we look forward to seeing you in August!

Greg Baker

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear Families and Community,

Happy Thursday and let’s welcome 70 degree weather this weekend! I hope you each spend time outside and soak in some Vitamin D.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our community once more for supporting the February 2018 school construction bond at an approval rate of more than 70 percent. That is truly an incredible demonstration of support for the important work embodied by our district’s strategic plan, The Bellingham Promise. I continue to be excited about what these ongoing investments in our school facilities will mean for our students and our larger community. Many important projects will move forward because of our community’s support, and all the new or improved facilities will benefit students for literally generations to come. We are excited to share some information and an estimated timeline for our facilities projects, which include rebuilding three elementary schools, updates about our new Central Kitchen and Sehome High School and some important shout outs to community partners for their generosity.

Our revised schedule includes projects funded by facilities bonds approved by voters in February 2018 and November 2013. You’ll see our timeline on our new bond posters that are coming soon to your school.

Alderwood, Parkview and Sunnyland Rebuilds

We anticipate having all three elementary schools rebuilt and complete by August 2022. These schools are being rebuilt due to their condition. In addition, the new schools will help us meet demands associated with growth occurring in north Bellingham. We are going to start the educational specifications and design advisory committee processes for both Alderwood and Parkview this month. It’s unique for us to start two design committees in tandem, but we want to give ourselves wiggle room in case there are unforeseen challenges ahead as we map out plans, work with architects and collaborate with our neighbors, particularly the city. Parkview and Sunnyland are adjacent to city parks, and Alderwood is one of our three schools located in the county (as opposed to the city of Bellingham).  Regardless of the order, we know all three communities are excited for their new schools, and we’ll keep you posted on how things progress in the coming months.

Central Kitchen – “Breaking ground” at a new location

The 2013 school construction bonds included funds to build a new centralized kitchen to help us deliver on our promise to “encourage a lifetime of healthy eating by preparing and serving students nourishing, delicious, whole foods.”  The new Central Kitchen was originally planned to be housed at the new Sehome High School campus, but issues related to the site’s topography and revised storm water retention regulations made that location impractical. Our 11-member Central Kitchen Facility Design Team comprised of staff and consultants has finalized a design that calls for the renovation of an existing building that the district purchased in October 2017.

Located at 2005 Alpine Way in the Irongate area off of Bakerview, the new Central Kitchen will be approximately 12,500 square feet when construction is complete. While the exterior of the building will remain essentially the same, the interior space will undergo important architectural, mechanical and electrical improvements.  These improvements will support a state-of-the-art equipment package including space for receiving; dry, freezer and refrigerated storage; cooking and vegetable preparation; blast chilling; ware and cart washing; cooling and preparation for transport; as well as a training/conference room, offices and restrooms. While we won’t actually “break ground,” we are having a special event May 10 at the new Central Kitchen site to mark this exciting milestone.
 

Sehome High School – On target to open by Fall 2019

Our work on the new Sehome High School is progressing quickly and well. Mass site work for the building phase is complete with the exception of sidewalks, a fire lane and general landscaping. Major utilities have been installed around the building with some electrical and irrigation still to be completed. We are done building the exterior wall framing and exterior masonry veneer. The east side of the building is transitioning to a finish stage; the exposed concrete floor grinding and polishing is ongoing (and on schedule); and paint and wall finish items are progressing as well.  On the west side of the building, the next month’s activities will be focused on completion of the weather barrier, window opening installation, roofing and starting the dry out process of the wood structure.

We are on-target to meet our goal of having the new Sehome ready for students and staff no later than the fall of 2019. You can see photos of our progress here or watch our work zone web cam.

It Takes a Village (the Bellingham community) – thank you, partners!

Within The Bellingham Promise, we make a collective commitment to all our students that relies not just on our own internal efforts, but also on authentic partnerships with individuals and organizations across our community.

Our capital projects work is no different. Bellingham Public Schools have benefited from significant community partner support, including:

• Whatcom Community Foundation (WCF) – Thank you for sharing the belief that what we feed our kids matter. Your partnership in our district’s ongoing efforts to transform school food – including a $1 million grant investing in research, planning, staff training and equipment upgrades for the new Central Kitchen – will help us use more whole and less processed foods in the meals and snacks we serve to more than 11,000 students. WCF is helping us achieve The Good Food Promise for every student.
• RAM Construction – Thank you for your support of the new Options High School, including your $85,000 donation of resources to get the site prepared.
• Dawson Construction – Thank you for your donation to enhance sustainability at the new Sehome High School. The $100,000 will help us install our first solar array.

As always, if you have any questions about our bond projects, please let me know, or you can contact our Capital Projects and School Facilities office.

Greg Baker

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear Families, Community and Staff,

I’m excited to share with you this recommendation that I received from our 33-member Facilities Planning Task Force, which included student, staff, parent, community and City of Bellingham representatives.

The task force spent many weeks studying our greatest facilities needs in Bellingham Public Schools.

Washington state does not provide enough funding to build, rebuild, repair or improve school facilities, so school districts put bond measures on the ballot that require 60 percent voter approval. This allows us to protect our general fund for teaching and learning purposes.

The task force’s recommendation calls for:

• Rebuilding three of our older elementary schools that are in poor physical condition and will benefit from updated facilities: Alderwood, Parkview and Sunnyland.
  • These three schools were also recommended due to their proximity to the growth occurring in north Bellingham, allowing for additional enrollment capacity or “infill” of our existing elementary schools before building a 15^th elementary school in a future bond (not part of this bond recommendation).
  • Initial conceptual planning indicates that all three of these elementary schools could be rebuilt adjacent to the existing schools, allowing students to continue to attend their schools until the new school opens, similar to how Happy Valley was built and Sehome is being constructed. The recent improvements of a new cafeteria and gym at Parkview would be incorporated and used in the design of the new school.
• Completing the remaining 2013 bond projects: Sehome High School rebuild, District Office seismic safety and renovation; Central Kitchen; and Transportation Garage improvements. The task force learned that since original estimates were developed in 2012 for these projects that are currently in the planning phase, construction costs have escalated and the Sehome project in particular is subject to new storm water, electrical, mechanical and building regulations.
• Improving safety and security at schools: Lockdown shades to eliminate visibility into classrooms and school areas from the exterior when needed; radio communication; PA/intercom for all school areas, including portables; access control for more secured entrances at some schools in need; door locking systems; security cameras for exterior vandalism deterrent and protection; and cameras in some commons interior areas such as hallways (all school offices have cameras from the previous bond).
• Protecting and maintaining our facility investments in our existing schools, similar to homeowners that need to replace building systems including roofs, windows, flooring, heating and ventilation, etc.
• Providing long-term technology infrastructure improvements and reader boards for schools that need them to avoid parent organizations fundraising for this purpose.
• Making facility improvements for the health and wellness of our students and community: The second phase of turf fields for soccer, baseball and softball at Bellingham, Sehome and Squalicum high schools; one more tennis court at Bellingham and Squalicum high schools so all three comprehensive high schools have six tennis courts; improving drainage and the usability of some elementary school fields so parent organizations don’t have to fundraise for this purpose; and additional gym space at Shuksan Middle School.

The task force carefully weighed the financial impact of all of these recommendations on our residential and business property owners. Our school district has more facility needs than those mentioned above. However, this recommendation meets many of the greatest needs while not increasing the combined total schools tax rate for property owners living within Bellingham Public Schools’ attendance areas. The approximate total cost of the recommendation is for a $155 million bond measure to put before voters in February 2018; this would keep the total schools tax rate at approximately $4.81 cents per $1,000 assessed property value. This is a lower tax rate from $4.86 that we were projecting at the time of the last levy in fall 2016. We are able to fund all of the recommended facility projects while not increasing the tax rate because our two-year school bus levy is expiring and we will also be retiring some debt.

I want to express my sincerest appreciation to the task force for this thoughtful recommendation and look forward to sharing more information with our community about these recommended projects next school year.

I’m also interested in your thoughts or questions regarding this recommendation. Please blog with me.

Thank you,

Greg Baker

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear Families and Community,

We are excited to share with you an update on projects related to our facilities bond, passed by voters in 2013.

Sehome High School

You may remember that we are planning to build a new Sehome High School on its current campus. We have made some revisions to our original plans (shared in May 2016), and we are excited to share our latest plans with you. View some of the drawings and read more about the plans, financing and project timeline on our website, or learn more on our website’s page dedicated to the Design Advisory Committee. We hope you’ll join us for a groundbreaking ceremony this spring – details coming soon. The new Sehome is scheduled to open August 2019.

Options High School

Construction of the new Options High School is moving right along (see photo below)! Watch our progress on our webcam. Our goal is to complete the new Options by mid-August. While we’re planning for opening at the start of the new school year, the construction schedule is very tight and we may need to be flexible if unexpected delays occur. Neighbors, students and staff may have noticed temporary detours of the city’s bicycle/pedestrian trail between Ohio and Kentucky streets. Eventually, the trail will be re-established using a portion of the existing trail as well as new sidewalks and a bike corridor on Franklin Street.

Central Kitchen

We have determined that the new central kitchen will not be located on the Sehome campus due to the most recent Sehome site design updates. While working with a group of stakeholders, we are in the process of deciding the central kitchen design and location.

Transportation Garage

In the coming weeks, a work group of staff and architects will begin working on the design of the new transportation garage. A new facility will replace the 60-year-old building on Meador Street.

Other news to share is that the turf field installation at Bellingham High School will begin this spring with completion by August 2017. The all-weather synthetic turf field will allow year-round use upon completion. New safety systems have been installed at all schools and district buildings, with more on the way, and many energy and other districtwide improvements have been made.

For additional information, timelines and completed projects, visit our webpage.

Dear Families and Community,

I would like to take a few minutes and give you an update on our new facilities.  Exciting times!

First, our new Happy Valley Elementary School opened this August as planned, as well as Parkview Elementary School’s new cafeteria, kitchen and music classroom/stage, and are a great source of pride for these school communities.

The next projects currently underway are:

Sehome High School – The 35-member Sehome Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee has been meeting and working with Dykeman Architects since last November to help plan the new Sehome High School. After the committee submitted its recommended schematic design last spring, Dykeman Architects and Dawson Construction have been have been working collaboratively over the summer to further refine the initial site and building design while allowing for current construction costs, site topography challenges and new storm water regulations. The committee will reconvene later this month to review this work and consider preparing an updated recommended schematic design, which will be shared with students, families, staff and neighbors. Part of the review includes further exploration about where the Central Kitchen should be located – on Sehome’s campus as originally planned or at another location. The existing Sehome will be replaced with a new state-of-the-art facility that fosters innovation and provides flexibility for current and future programs. Students will attend the existing Sehome while the new Sehome is under construction, similar to Happy valley’s construction project. The new Sehome is scheduled to open in the fall of 2019.

Options High School (View Web Cam) – For the first time in 23 years, Options High School students did not start the school year in portables. Bellingham High school has temporarily vacated a wing of its school in the One Schoolhouse spirit for Options students and staff until the new Options opens. Options’ portables have been relocated from the Franklin Street site across the district to meet a variety of needs and make way for construction to begin. Tiger construction has been working hard on the new school including site preparation, constructing footings and installing underground plumbing and electrical utilities. We are also partnering with RAM construction to remove some contaminated soil in some areas of the site (portions of the site long ago contained several rail spurs as well as a sash and door manufacturing plant). To keep cyclists and pedestrians safely away from construction, there will be temporary detours of the city’s  bicycle/pedestrian trail between Ohio and Kentucky streets. The detour route will follow Ohio Street to Grant Street to Kentucky Street back to Franklin Street.  Eventually, the trail will be re-established using a portion of the existing trail as well as new sidewalks and a bike corridor on Franklin Street. The Options High School Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee concluded its work and submitted design recommendations to me last June. This new 52,000 square foot Options will be a small high school design, complete with classrooms, science labs, art classroom, gymnasium, cafeteria, performing arts stage and small theater auditorium, Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and space for a third district teen parent program (GRADS) and a pre-school area. Although the permitting process took longer than anticipated, resulting in a delayed start of construction, we are hopeful the new Options will be ready to open in the fall of 2017.

High School Fields (View Web Cam) – Our first all-weather synthetic turf field allowing year-round use at Squalicum High School is nearing completion (see photo below).

The new field will support physical education, extra-curricular activities, athletics and community use. The project includes some spectator seating, energy efficient LED lighting and a newly resurfaced running track. In planning for the bond, we received a lot of feedback from staff, students, athletic programs, marching band, and community groups who felt we needed to replace our often very wet and soggy (therefore unusable) grass fields with synthetic turf. A High School Turf Fields Advisory Group provided a recommendations for synthetic turf field installations at Bellingham and Squalicum high schools. They were also asked to provide input and recommend the type of turf and infill material for the Sehome High School fields when they are installed.

Gordon Carter Conservation Site – Based on the work of our Gordon Carter Environmental Learning Center Vision Advisory Group’s recommendation, we are preparing for infrastructure improvements on the 130 acres of conservation land that the district owns on the south end of Lake Whatcom. As part of this bond, we plan to build a small structure for future outdoor education programming.

This bond is having a significant positive impact for so many in our community, and we are very grateful to our voters who supported these projects in 2013.

Thank you,
Greg Baker

Dear Families and Community,

I know many of you are already in summer break mode, but I wanted to offer a quick update on the ongoing physical changes happening at some of our schools, some of which are obvious to passers-by and others are still in the planning stages.

We held an official groundbreaking event at Options High School earlier this week to commemorate the upcoming “construction season” as we rebuild the new high school on Franklin Street. See our photos of the groundbreaking here. Tiger Construction of Everson has been named the contractor. We expect the project to be completed by August 2017. Options staff and students will be temporarily relocated inside Bellingham High School next year during construction.

The High School Turf Fields Advisory Group finished its work this spring. Installation of a new turf field at Squalicum High School has just begun, which you can watch on this work zone camera. Next up will be the field at Bellingham High School in 2017, then the fields at Sehome High as part of their rebuild. Premier Field Development, Inc., is the contractor.

Happy Valley Elementary School will open for the 2016-17 school year. The community is invited to an official ribbon cutting ceremony at noon on Aug. 23. Tiger Construction, architects and staff have put many hours into this new school. This summer, demolition of the old school will take place and work will begin on the outdoor fields and parking lot. Watch at time-lapse video here.

Parkview Elementary School’s new cafeteria, kitchen and music classroom/stage are also scheduled to open for the 2016-17 school year. Watch a time-lapse video of Parkview here.

The Sehome High School Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee recently submitted its recommendation for the schematic design and site plan for the new Sehome High School, and I have officially accepted the recommendation. The committee has been meeting since November 2015 and worked with architects to design a facility to meet varied program needs over time while creating a flexible, open space with multiple uses to support different teaching and learning styles for Sehome High School. The General Contractor/Construction Manager, Dawson Construction, has pledged a minimum of $100,000 toward a sustainable feature in the new building or on the site that we wouldn’t be able to fund otherwise. The advisory committee held a community meeting on May 24 to update families and neighbors and answer questions. Construction on the new Sehome is slated to begin sometime in the spring or summer of 2017, and the project will be completed by the time school opens in August 2019.

I encourage you to walk or drive by any of these facilities and/or follow our progress online,

Greg Baker

I am excited to provide an update on our Nov. 2013 voter-approved facilities bond and the progress we’re making at our schools.

The new Happy Valley Elementary School is on schedule, and we are planning to open it in time for the 2016-17 school year. We will be inviting students, staff, families and our community to an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 23, the day before the first day of school. Many thanks to Tiger Construction, its subcontractors, our architects and our staff who have been putting in many hours on this amazing new school. See the progress on this work zone camera or check out our aerial photography here.

Parkview Elementary School’s new cafeteria, kitchen and music classroom/stage are also slated to open in time for the 2016-17 school year. Here you can see a great view of Parkview’s new covered play area and watch a time-lapse video of progress since June 2015. A special community event and tour of Parkview’s new construction will be scheduled for early fall.

We will be breaking ground on the new Options High School this June. The Options High School Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee concluded its work and submitted design recommendations to me last June. This new facility on Franklin Street will house Options High School, along with a variety of other district programs, which may include GRADS and CTE offerings. Options staff and students will be temporarily relocated inside Bellingham High School next year during construction. It’s been powerful to witness the One Schoolhouse strategy of The Bellingham Promise in action; a big shout out to our Options and Bellingham staff and students who have been so flexible.

We have selected Dawson Construction to be the general contractor/construction manager for the new Sehome High School. The 35-member Sehome Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee has been meeting and working with Dykeman Architects since November. The existing Sehome will be replaced with a new state of the art facility that fosters innovation and provides flexibility for current and future programs. New synthetic turf athletic fields (baseball, softball, and football), tennis courts, and a synthetic running track will also be part of the project. Dawson Construction is based in Bellingham and has worked on school facility projects in the past, including the replacement of Bellingham High School and rebuilding Whatcom Middle School following the devastating fire in 2009.  The new Sehome is scheduled to open in the fall of 2019.

We are working through some significant programmatic changes to prepare for our new Central Kitchen, which will be located on the Sehome campus. Chef Ann Cooper and her team have been working with our food services staff to support us as we begin taking steps to provide wholesome, healthful foods at our schools. You can read our Food Services Advisory Group’s recommendations, which, along with Chef Cooper’s expertise, are helping us determine short and long-term goals as we build a path for our journey toward natural, scratch food.

I am pleased to report that I just received a thoughtful and thorough recommendation from our High School Turf Fields Advisory Group. In planning for the bond, we received a lot of feedback from staff, students, athletic programs, marching band, and community groups who felt we needed to replace our often very wet and soggy (therefore unusable) grass fields with synthetic turf. This advisory group was tasked with providing input and recommendations for design elements (e.g. field markings, lighting, fencing, seating, etc.) associated with synthetic turf field installations at Bellingham and Squalicum high schools. They were also asked to provide input and recommend the type of turf and infill material for the new synthetic fields. The group is recommending crumb rubber, also known as Styrene Butadiene Rubber or SBR, which is used on all synthetic turf fields in Whatcom County (Civic Field, Joe Martin Stadium, WWU, WCC, Lummi Nation School, Bellingham Sportsplex) and in more than 300 fields in our state. They made this recommendation based on a number of factors including the studies they reviewed and the fact that results of those studies have not indicated a significant health risk from its use. Again, the advisory group’s report is thorough and full of research and information from presenters and interviews. I encourage you to read it if you have questions about crumb rubber.

Please feel free to comment on my blog about any of these updates. What excites you? What do you have questions about? 

I also encourage you to click on the links included throughout email to find out more about our advisory group processes and the many staff, students, families and community members, many of whom volunteer their time to help us tackle some big processes and decisions.

Thank you! Don’t forget to try to walk or drive by some of these schools/construction sites to see our bond in action, in person.

Greg Baker

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

I hope your student(s) are enjoying his/her first month in school. I am feeling such wonderful, positive energy in our schools and among our staff and families. Thank you all for such a strong start to this school year.

I just finished writing a blog about our facilities and wanted to share an update about the great progress we’re making. It’s exciting to see physical proof of change happening at Lowell, Happy Valley and Parkview elementary schools – which you can witness by driving or stopping by these schools or simply watching from your device.

Greg Baker

Blog post - Sept. 2015: Facilities Update

It’s been less than two years since voters approved our facilities bond in Nov. 2013, and it’s incredible and exciting for our kids, staff and community to see so many physical changes at our schools.

Lowell Elementary School’s addition was fully opened to students on Aug. 26 for the first day of school. Lowell’s new gymnasium, cafeteria, kitchen and music class/stage are just beautiful. We’re working hard to finish the school’s elevator to ensure accessibility for all. The official community unveiling for neighbors, staff, students and families is at 3 p.m. on Oct. 8, and all are welcome. You can expect student-led tours, refreshments and a warm welcome. If you’re curious to see the school’s progression, I recommend watching a time lapse video here.

We’re celebrating a milestone at the site of the new Happy Valley Elementary School: walls are up! Our Happy Valley students, staff and community have been watching with great interest as crews build, dig, stack, lift and lower a variety of materials to ensure a new school is ready by Aug. 2016. We broke ground in June 2015, and since then, there’s been a flurry of activity, which you can watch here (time-lapse movie button on right).

Across town, construction workers are working on building Parkview a new cafeteria, kitchen and music classroom/stage. You can watch the progress of this project, as well. Can you tell I’m digging these facility cameras?! Of course, I encourage everyone to see this work in person, but it’s a great tool to watch our progress from anywhere.

And I don’t have time-lapse movies to share for Options or Sehome high schools… yet!

We’re on target to finish planning for our new Options with our Options High School Educational Specifications/ Design Advisory Committee by the end of this school year. Construction is slated to begin in June 2016. You can see the committee’s visioning and recommendation for the new school’s design and function. It’s been powerful to see and hear current Options students who won’t likely experience the new facility offer reflective input on the behalf of future students.

Please watch for a variety of ways to help with big picture visioning for both our new Sehome High School and food services program in preparation for the Central Kitchen. This fall is ripe with opportunities to be involved and provide input on both processes, which are large in scale and scope. Because of their size, we want thorough and thoughtful planning processes for both projects. Our target date to have both Sehome and Central Kitchen (which will be on Sehome’s campus) complete is in the Fall of 2019.

We’re so appreciative to our community for its ongoing support in providing safe facilities that support the work of The Bellingham Promise.

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear Sehome Staff, and Current and Future Students and Families,

Prior to the end of the school year, we wanted to update you about our planning process to rebuild Sehome High School. This is one of many facilities projects that voters supported in the bond passed in November 2013.

Later this month or in early July, we plan to hire an architect for the Sehome and Central Kitchen projects. We anticipate a competitive process that will attract experts who are enthusiastic about the scope of work and possibilities for these projects, and who are highly experienced and skilled in high school and kitchen design. We have not built a high school in our Bellingham community since Squalicum High School opened 17 years ago.

This summer, our selected architect will begin to research the existing Sehome facility and property.

In the fall, the architect will help lead a visioning process to broadly engage students, parents, staff, alumni, neighbors and our community in sharing their hopes and dreams for the new Sehome. We also anticipate issuing a call for applications in the fall for consideration to serve on the Sehome Educational Specifications and Design Advisory Committee,  which will recommend schematic and design development drawings to me. Our Central Kitchen facility, which will be located on Sehome’s campus, will also have a Design Advisory Committee with a call for applications coming this fall. These two committees will have different work, but will need to coordinate during the process due to their location on the same campus.

This coming school year, 2015-16, will be dedicated to planning and 2016-17 to complete the design work. During 2017-18 and 2018-19, we anticipate starting and completing construction work in phases to allow students to continue to attend Sehome during the rebuild. We anticipate fully opening our new Sehome and the new Central Kitchen by August 2019.

I hope this update has been helpful as you head off for summer soon and look forward to these exciting projects moving forward with increasing momentum.

Happy summer,

Greg Baker

Dear families,

Thanks to the passage of the facilities bond in 2013, Bellingham Public Schools will see some big improvements over the coming months and years. I wanted to share this new video that shows what has been happening since the bond passed.

You can also track our progress on our website.

We plan to complete all of these projects by 2019.

Here are the latest updates:

• Following several meetings and various public input sessions last school year, the Lowell Elementary Design Advisory Group has recommended the school’s new gymnasium and cafeteria be built on the north side of the school along 15^th street. Construction begins this winter and will be completed for the start of the 2015-16 school year.

• The Happy Valley Design Advisory Committee is comprised of staff, parents, community members and neighbors. They have had many meetings and work sessions over the last year with architects, as well as opportunities for public input. This committee is continuing to work and meet. Construction will begin in the summer of 2015, and the new school will be completed by the time school starts in 2016.

• Other improvements to schools related to safety, maintenance and energy upgrades have already begun and will be ongoing until 2019. This year, planning begins for several projects including Sehome, Options, Parkview, athletic fields at Bellingham and Squalicum high schools, the central kitchen and Gordon Carter conservation site.

Greg

Bond Projects Update

Thanks to Bellingham voters, two of the bond projects approved in November 2013 are reaching major milestones for planning an addition and improvements at Lowell Elementary School and a rebuild of Happy Valley Elementary School.

Lowell Elementary Project

The Lowell Elementary Design Advisory Group has been meeting since March to:

• Provide input and process the design elements for Lowell Elementary School’s new gym, cafeteria, elevator and classrooms, as well as the location of the new gym and cafeteria; and
• Help communicate and gather input from stakeholders including staff, neighbors, community members and parents.

Following four committee meetings and two public meetings with the community, the group has submitted their educational specifications and schematic design recommendations to the superintendent.

The recommendation includes the design elements for construction of a new, two-story 9,500 square-foot gymnasium and cafeteria building with related site improvements. The addition will house a cafeteria, kitchen, gymnasium, and a music classroom/stage as well as support spaces. Approximately 3,500 square feet of space inside in the existing Lowell building will also be modified to accommodate three new classrooms.

The recommendation is to locate the new building on the north side of the school along 15^th Street. The recommended design for the addition will include a brick façade, similar to the historic brick façade of the adjacent 100-year Lowell school. The project also includes a 3-stop elevator providing access to all building levels.

The superintendent will now review and consider the recommendation. Construction is slated to begin in late fall 2014 and will be completed for the start of the 2015-16 school year. Construction activities will be conducted in a way that maintains a safe learning and work environment for children and staff.

Happy Valley Rebuild

The Happy Valley Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee is comprised of staff, parents, community members and neighbors and has been meeting since April.

The group’s charge is to recommend updates to the elementary educational specifications for Bellingham Public Schools and provide input on the design of a new Happy Valley Elementary School.  Educational specifications provide a detailed description of the desired educational program, instructional activities, as well as functional, spatial and environmental needs. This helps clarify and direct the scope of work and design requirements for the architects, engineers, and other professionals working on the building design and site plan.

After meeting eight times and holding a community input meeting, the committee is recommending educational specifications to the superintendent (available on the committee website later this month). As the group continues its design advisory work throughout this fall, the committee wants to seek additional community input during a public meeting from 6-7 p.m. Monday, July 21 at Happy Valley Elementary School, 1041 24^th St., in room 9. The purpose of this meeting will be to share a project update and gather input on the committee’s proposed site and building plan, including the new building’s location, ingress/egress and parking.

The committee visited some elementary schools in Washington for design exploration for the new Happy Valley and brainstormed many possibilities with NAC Architects. The recommended educational specifications place a high value on natural light, “classroom neighborhoods” or clusters of learning areas throughout the school, a welcoming entrance and outdoor learning spaces. The recommended location for the new Happy Valley is to the east of the existing school with vehicle access from 24^th Street and the 3-5 school buses accessing the site via Mill and 27^th streets.

Plans are to bid the project in early spring 2015. Construction of the new building will begin in the summer of 2015 and be completed in the summer of 2016, ready for the opening of the 2016-17 school year. Demolition of the old building and final site work will occur in the fall 2016. The existing school will remain occupied and active during construction with a priority of providing a safe learning and work environment for children and staff.

Thank you again for your incredible support on last fall’s facilities bond.  This video shows our appreciation for this community and offers a quick update on the bond projects. We are so fortunate to live in a community like Bellingham that highly values education and continues to support all our students.

We’ll be sending periodic emails on the facilities projects with highlights, updates and videos of our progress. We plan to complete all of these projects by 2019.

You can also track bond project progress on our website.

• Lowell Elementary improvements: Dykeman Architects has been selected as the project architect. They previously provided architectural service on Lowell’s seismic project, the Whatcom Middle School rebuild and the Birchwood Elementary rebuild. The Lowell Design Advisory Group met twice in March and has two meetings planned for April. The group includes Lowell staff and principal, parents and other district staff. It’s working with Dykeman to design the new gym, cafeteria and classrooms and help communicate and gather input from neighbors. Lowell’s renovations should be completed by August 2015.

• Happy Valley Elementary rebuild: NAC Architects has been selected as the project architect. They provided architectural services on our Cordata Elementary School project and have considerable elementary school design experience throughout the state. The Happy Valley Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting on April 10. This group will work with the architects on the educational specifications and design elements related to the school. Schematic designs are scheduled for completion by June 30. The new Happy Valley is slated to open August 2016.

• Repurposing Larrabee Think Tank: This committee is wrapping up its work and is in the process of submitting analysis to the superintendent that outlines pros and cons of proposed district uses of Larrabee. The group decided to prioritize district uses over potential public uses of the building and only sought applications for ideas from district staff. They chose this option because they did not want to alienate or frustrate non-district applicants by having them spend time, money and personal investment if a district use for the building could be identified.  In 2012-13, a Facilities Planning Task Force recommended closing the school due to findings that the building did not adequately function as a traditional K-5. Larrabee is being retired after June 2014.

• Birchwood Elementary rebuild: The new Birchwood is scheduled to reopen in fall 2014. Its design incorporates modern features including classrooms grouped in pods to enhance collaboration, small group team spaces, technology and an energy-efficient heating and ventilation system. It also includes a combination of community-valued traditional elements such as a brick exterior, the historic flag pole and the original 1928 exterior entrance, which is being repurposed as the entrance to the library. Matt Whitten will be the new principal of Birchwood. Please note the Birchwood rebuild is paid for by the 2006 bond and state construction assistance funding. 

Dear Families and Community,

The recent decision by our voters to fund Bellingham Public Schools bond measure for facilities is another indicator of how highly our community values education. This is such an important investment for future generations.

Earlier this week, we sold bonds to allow us to begin working on many of the projects. Please view this timeline that provides estimated completion dates. We’ll begin moving forward on many of the projects in some way in 2014, including engaging deeply with our Happy Valley community to begin a visioning process for the new school.

For a couple of the projects, actual construction will begin relatively soon. Construction at Lowell Elementary School to add an elevator, gym and cafeteria will likely begin during summer or fall 2014 with completion by fall 2015; Lowell’s existing small gym and cafeteria will be transformed into additional classroom space. Construction to rebuild Happy Valley Elementary School will likely begin in the summer 2015 with completion by fall 2016. Children will continue to attend Lowell and Happy Valley throughout this process. We’ll be working closely with our school communities in the coming months.

Several of the safety, maintenance and energy upgrades will also begin this summer at schools throughout the district.

We look forward to keeping you updated on all of these bond projects in the next few years and extend our sincerest appreciation for our community’s support.

In gratitude,

Greg Baker

As many of you know, voters will decide on a bond on Nov. 5 regarding facilities for Bellingham Public Schools.

This bond includes the highest priority needs. If approved by voters, the facility projects would likely be completed by 2019.

There are many compelling facts to share related to the bond. Please visit our bond website or review the most recent InsideSchools for more information.

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker                      

Dear Families and Community,

A big focus of our work this year has been on facilities planning led by the Facilities Planning Task Force. Since the Task Force submitted its recommendation to me this winter, we’ve been exploring each part of the proposal to help determine which projects are part of a bond during an election in November. Most of the funding for construction, renovation and facility improvements comes from local voters with the state supplying a small amount.

Please take a moment to read the latest edition of our Inside Schools community newsletter, which highlights some of the great work happening in our schools. My “Place Matters for Student Learning” column addresses facilities projects currently under consideration for a bond election this November 2013. By the end of this month, we’ll finalize this decision and a Citizens’ Advisory Committee, co-chaired by district parents and task force members Teri McIntyre and Mark Peterson, will lead this effort to work with our community in support of our schools.

We’ll be adding several videos to our website next week that explain the needs for the facilities projects. Check out the first 2-minute video featuring Sehome student and task force member James Pai: Why rebuild Sehome High School?

Thank you,

Greg Baker

Following a thorough process of research, planning, discussion, reviewing data and information, and gathering extensive input throughout the 2012-13 school year, a decision has been made to retire Larrabee Elementary School for use as a K-5 elementary school in June 2014, June 2015 or June 2016. An exact date will be determined based on ongoing discussions about how Larrabee might be repurposed for another instructional program.

In fall 2013, an attendance area planning committee consisting of staff, parent and other representatives will be created and begin working to recommend which areas in the neighborhood will attend nearby Happy Valley or Lowell elementary schools. Most, if not all, of Larrabee students who currently walk to school will be able to continue to walk to either Happy Valley or Lowell. This future work will involve our Larrabee community in planning a smooth and successful transition for students, families and staff.

This decision was made at the May 9, 2013 school board meeting, following a public hearing with the Larrabee community, six previous public input and discussion meetings, meetings with Larrabee staff, feedback gathered online and in writing through surveys and forms since December 2012, and a unanimous recommendation from a Facilities Planning Task Force that included Larrabee staff and parent representatives, as well as former Larrabee principals.

Many Larrabee families and neighbors advocated for keeping Larrabee as a K-5 elementary school, demonstrating great passion and love for their school community. Other Larrabee and other district families supported the repurposing of Larrabee. The input received throughout this process encouraged the use of Larrabee for another instructional purpose if it was retired with strong feelings that the historic building not be abandoned or sold. The district remains committed to continuing to explore repurposing ideas already surfaced during this process such as for an early childhood or homeschool partnership program.

The reasons that Larrabee is being retired for use as a K-5 elementary school are detailed in this analysis.

The recommendation of the Facilities Planning Task Force demonstrates a commitment to maintaining, upgrading and rebuilding existing neighborhood schools throughout our community as supported by enrollment and a facility’s ability to deliver the desired educational program for students. This reflects a community value of elementary schools where children are well known, cared for and supported by our staff with high levels of family and community engagement. The average current enrollment of Bellingham’s 14 elementary schools is 345, well below state and national averages. Larrabee currently has 185 students enrolled.

Staff will now focus on collaboratively planning and developing a smooth and successful transition plan for our Larrabee students and families, and on repurposing possibilities for Larrabee’s building. Please watch for more information this fall regarding next steps and ways to stay involved.

Dear Families and Community,

I wanted to update you again regarding facilities since my last communication on this topic before spring break, which already seems distant in our busy worlds of children, family and school.

As you may recall, I received a recommendation from the Facilities Planning Task Force in February. Since that time, our staff has focused on working closely with our Larrabee, Happy Valley and Lowell school communities and neighbors regarding the recommendation to retire Larrabee Elementary School for use as a K-5 school. Prior to spring break, I shared that Larrabee will remain open for next school year, 2013-14.

Following the Task Force’s process from September 2012 through January 2013, I have spent the past two months gathering additional input from our Larrabee staff, families and community. Please click here to read an endorsement of the Task Force’s recommendation to retire Larrabee for use as a K-5 elementary school at the end of a school year between June 2014 and June 2016, with the exact date to be determined based on future information. I have shared with Larrabee families and staff that our next step in the process is to hold a public hearing on May 8 regarding Larrabee’s possible retirement as a K-5 school and on the school district’s analysis of the effects of the proposed closure. Following this hearing, a decision will be made about whether to move forward with retiring Larrabee for use as a K-5 school at the end of a school year between June 2014 and June 2016, with the exact date to be determined based on future information.

Meanwhile, staff are continuing to process the rest of the Facilities Planning Task Force recommendation to rebuild Sehome High School and answer other remaining questions, including the need to:

• Explore the best bond financing options to minimize the local property tax impact;

• Further research the benefits and costs of locating a centralized kitchen in a new Sehome High School to prepare higher quality, more made-from-scratch meals for all 22 schools;

• Explore the potential for a district culinary arts program and/or other career and technical education programs located at Sehome or other sites that require specialized construction;

• Plan the location of some facilities such as the Learning Support Center/District Office and Options/Innovations High School;

• Engage Parkview Elementary School families and staff regarding the recommendation to improve Parkview;

• Plan for the reopening of Birchwood Elementary School in fall 2014;

• Engage students, staff, families and community in building a vision related to Options/Innovations High School;

• Determine the extent of the rebuild of the transportation facility;

• Conduct more planning for phases 1 and 2 of adding synthetic turf athletic fields at our high schools;

• Consider future facility needs for our conservation site on Lake Whatcom;

• Further explore the extent and possible timeline for completing work at Sunnyland, Carl Cozier and Columbia elementary schools; and

• Further research the safety upgrades and maintenance costs needed for all schools.

This facilities planning places a high value on community neighborhood schools and makes the best possible use of our existing land and spaces to deliver an exceptional educational program for all students.

I will continue to keep you informed as we make progress on facilities planning and the exciting possibilities for our Bellingham community and future generations of students.

Thank you,

Greg Baker

A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

District Staff, Families and Community,

I wanted to update you regarding our facilities planning work.

Since I received a recommendation from the Facilities Planning Task Force in February, we have focused on working closely with our Larrabee, Happy Valley and Lowell school communities and neighbors. We have had many more meetings and collected additional feedback, in particular from Larrabee families and neighbors, to discuss the possible retirement of Larrabee, building a new elementary on Happy Valley’s property and making improvements to Lowell. Click here to read the recommendation and rationale regarding southside elementary schools.

At the request of those closest to this work to have more information about a possible timeline before a decision is made about Larrabee’s future status, we formed a “think tank” of representative Larrabee, Happy Valley and Lowell parents, staff and neighbors. They recently worked with the principals to help answer questions about a possible timeline. Meeting minutes are available online. The “think tank” considered four possible scenarios: Retire Larrabee this June in 2013, June 2014, June 2016 (or when a new school at Happy Valley is built and improvements are made to Lowell) or a “rolling closure” in which Larrabee has one less grade level each year, beginning with kindergarten. After much discussion, the group felt strongly that the rolling closure option should be eliminated because negatives far outweighed the benefits for students and families. On the other three scenarios, the group did not reach consensus, but gave me a thoughtful list of benefits and drawbacks for each scenario.

After reviewing this information, as well as carefully considering survey feedback from Larrabee families and input from my meetings with Larrabee families, staff and neighbors, I have decided to also eliminate the option of retiring Larrabee this June 2013. Many families, neighbors and staff felt that we would have more time to plan and involve families and staff in attendance area considerations for a June 2014 or June 2016 retirement. Larrabee families with young children or those feeling a sense of urgency for an earlier transition may continue to submit transfer requests.

At this time, I have not made a decision to act on the Task Force’s recommendation to retire Larrabee, but have a substantial amount of input and data gathered since November 2012 from surveys and multiple meetings with families, staff and neighbors. I want to take a little more time to consider all of the input and “think tank” feedback regarding retiring Larrabee in June 2014 or June 2016. I’m also continuing to work closely with neighbors regarding possible uses for Larrabee if the school does not serve K-5 students in the future. The Happy Valley Neighborhood Association recently proposed that we consider housing an “early learners” facility at Larrabee. I want to continue considering the possibilities and plan to make a decision about Larrabee’s retirement in the coming weeks, but wanted to communicate at this time that Larrabee will remain open next year as a K-5 elementary school.

Meanwhile, staff are continuing to process the rest of the Facilities Planning Task Force recommendation to rebuild Sehome High School and answer other remaining questions, including the need to:

• Explore the best bond financing options to minimize the local property tax impact;
• Further research the benefits and costs of locating a centralized kitchen in a new Sehome High School to prepare higher quality, more made-from-scratch meals for all 22 schools;
• Explore the potential for a district culinary arts program and/or other career and technical education programs located at Sehome or other sites that require specialized construction;
• Plan the location of some facilities such as the Learning Support Center/District Office and Options/Innovations High School;
• Engage Parkview Elementary School families and staff regarding the recommendation to improve Parkview;
• Plan for the reopening of Birchwood Elementary School in fall 2014;
•  Engage students, staff, families and community in building a vision related to Options/Innovations High School;
• Determine the extent of the rebuild of the transportation facility;
• Conduct more planning for phases 1 and 2 of adding synthetic turf athletic fields at our high schools;
• Consider future facility needs for our conservation site on Lake Whatcom;
•  Further explore the extent and possible timeline for completing work at Sunnyland, Carl Cozier and Columbia elementary schools; and
• Further research the safety upgrades and maintenance costs needed for all schools.

This facilities planning places a high value on community neighborhood schools and makes the best possible use of our existing land and spaces to deliver an exceptional educational program for all students. I appreciate this approach that aligns with our community’s values. You can continue to share your thoughts with me (survey closed).

I will continue to keep you informed throughout our districtwide facilities planning process about the exciting possibilities for our future generations of students and Bellingham community.

Thank you,

Greg Baker

Dear Families and Community,

Our Task Force of nearly 35 students, staff, families and community members from throughout our school district has spent the past four months reviewing the current status of our facilities and our needs for the next 10 years.

We began with a consultant’s evaluation of the condition of the district’s buildings, and we toured the facilities. Our work focused on the facilities that have not been newly built or renovated in recent years. While some of our facilities are in great shape, many need critical attention. We shared ideas with the community on November 30, 2012, and hosted public meetings. We also collected and carefully considered community input received through online and telephone surveys. As a result of this additional input, we made some modifications to the original ideas we shared on Nov. 30, which are now part of our recommendation to the superintendent.

Please click here to read a brochure that summarizes our recommendation and next steps.

For the full recommendation, please click here.

We are excited by the many possibilities in this recommendation for improved learning environments for our students, staff and community for future generations.

Thank you for the many opportunities to share our work with you,

The Facilities Planning Task Force

https://www.bellinghamschools.org/get-involved/committees-and-advisory-groups/facilities-planning-task-force-2012

A Reminder from the Facilities Planning Task Force

Our fourth community input sessions for this phase of planning will take place this evening 6-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10  in the Fairhaven Middle School cafeteria at 110 Park Ridge Road. This is an opportunity to work in small groups to discuss our project ideas, brainstorm and give feedback. We hope that you will consider attending  or taking the online survey. Your input is very important to us.

Our Facilities Planning Task Force has spent the past 2½ months reviewing and processing data, including an evaluation of the physical condition of our schools and how they function for students, staff and families.

We also encourage you to provide input to our Task Force by taking this online survey by Friday, Dec. 14.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. We will continue to keep you updated as this process continues in the new year.

Our Facilities Planning Task Force has spent the past 2½ months reviewing and processing data, including an evaluation of the physical condition of our schools and how they function for students, staff and families.

Please click here to view a short video that highlights the work of our Task Force. We represent the many facets of our community and are committed to recommending a 10-year facilities plan to the superintendent that will meet the learning needs of future generations. Before making a recommendation in January, we want to share our ideas and see what you think.

Please click here to read about our project ideas.

We encourage you to provide input to our Task Force by taking this online survey by Friday, Dec. 14 and/or attending one of these public input/work sessions, where you’ll have an opportunity to work in small groups and brainstorm with others while submitting your input.

Session 1: 6-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3 Sehome High School cafeteria at 2700 Bill McDonald Parkway

Session 2: 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 at Whatcom Middle School cafeteria (park on blacktop across the street) at 810 Halleck Street

Session 3: 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6 at Shuksan Middle School cafeteria at 2717 Alderwood Avenue

Session 4: 6-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10 Fairhaven Middle School cafeteria at 110 Park Ridge Road

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. We will continue to keep you updated as this process continues in the new year.

The Facilities Planning Task Force, co-chaired by community members Jim and Linden Darling, is made up of more than 30 members consisting of students, parents, staff, community members and alumni. The task force is intentionally looking through many viewpoints to bring forward recommendations that are in the best interest of our greater community, now and for future generations to come. Early on, the Task Force adopted the mantra – Place Matters: Stay Focused on the Future – believing that our facilities and physical environments have a significant impact on the quality of our children’s education.

The Task Force is focusing on the facility needs for all elementary schools (except Birchwood – which is being rebuilt with an anticipated reopening in fall 2014 – and our new schools, Northern Heights, Cordata and Wade King). We are also focusing on Options and Sehome high schools the District Office; and other projects.

Our work priorities are to:

• Recommend a plan that will identify and prioritize major facility improvement projects for Bellingham Public Schools for the next 10 years. This could include major renovation/modernization of existing facilities; miscellaneous projects such as roofing, flooring, etc. to protect/upgrade current facilities; additions to existing facilities; new facilities; purchasing property; and /or repurposing existing facilities for programs or other uses.
• Recommend specific projects from the plan for a future bond issue to put before voters, possibly as early as spring 2013.

To foster transparency and open communication, Task Force meeting minutes, as well as presentations and data that we’re reviewing, are posted on our webpage at https://www.bellinghamschools.org/get-involved/committees-and-advisory-groups/facilities-planning-task-force-2012.

After spending the past two and a half months analyzing and discussing all the data, our Facilities Planning Task Force wants to share what we found.  We will be preparing our ideas to share with students, staff, families and our community in early December.  We’ll be looking to get your input before we make our recommendations to the superintendent in January.

We plan to gather input from early to mid-December through an online survey and also through family and community input/work sessions.

These input sessions have been scheduled at the following times:

• Session 1: 6-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3 Sehome High School cafeteria at 2700 Bill McDonald Parkway
• Session 2: 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 at Whatcom Middle School cafeteria (park on blacktop across the street) at 810 Halleck Street
• Session 3: 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6 at Shuksan Middle School cafeteria at 2717 Alderwood Avenue
• Session 4: 6-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10 Fairhaven Middle School cafeteria at 110 Park Ridge Road

All families and community members throughout the city may attend any input/work session. Each session will cover the same material. These sessions will provide an opportunity for task force members to share information, and for attendees to give input and work in small groups to share ideas and process questions.

In January, the Task Force will continue to meet to use the input collected in December to help shape a recommendation to the superintendent. The superintendent will then reflect on the recommendation, gather additional input as needed, and share next steps with the community.