A Message from Communications and Community Relations

Our district’s facilities planning task force has been meeting since late February and is expected to work throughout the spring. This group is charged with developing a recommendation that could include repurposing some school sites or programs and/or reconfiguring attendance areas (boundaries) for schools, especially at the elementary level.

We convened this task force to help review and analyze enrollment projections as well as school capacity and building conditions in the context of long-term capital planning and ongoing budget challenges. 

Projections for the next 5-10 years show a steady decline in elementary enrollment due to lower birth rates, and between 2018 and 2028, we are expecting to see a drop in 1,000 students across our elementary schools.

Watch this video to learn more.

The task force, which includes principals, school staff, district leadership, City of Bellingham staff and parents/guardians, wants to ensure its work is transparent and accessible.

We will continue to update the task force webpage with resources to ensure our community can stay up-to-date throughout the process. Resources already posted include:

• the demographer’s report, which includes enrollment projections;
• video recording of the demographer’s presentation from the March 9 task force meeting;
• Video recording of a panel discussion including the demographer, representative from the City of Bellingham and Birchwood’s principal, also from March 9; 
• the demographer’s slide deck shared at a recent school board study session March 19; and
• frequently asked questions (FAQ).

No decisions have been made but feel free to share your questions and ideas. Please look for future updates and for opportunities for feedback. The task force plans to engage further with our community later this spring.