A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear staff, families, students and community members,

We have some exciting news to share related to recent construction and facilities projects across our district. These are possible thanks to voter support of our recent bonds, including the bond that was on the ballot in February 2022.

Updates on Elementary 15, Community Transitions building, new District Office

• The new Elementary School 15 Educational Specifications/Design Advisory Committee has been meeting to help plan and design a new school off East Bakerview. We held a community meeting last week to listen to input from and engage with King Mountain neighbors. Funding for this new school was included in our most recent bond in February 2022. The current plan is for the school to serve as a swing space or temporary home for a school community while its neighborhood school is under construction, for example Carl Cozier, Columbia and Roosevelt with a future bond(s). Once the new replacement schools open, our current thinking is to then open elementary 15 as a neighborhood school. As always, we will refine our plans as needed.
• The 2022 bond has funds designated to design and build a new space for our Community Transitions (CT) program, which serves students receiving Special Education services through the age of 21. CT has outgrown its current space within Bellingham High School and will be temporarily housed at WECU’s Birchwood branch on Birchwood Avenue, once renovations are complete. We are so appreciative of WECU’s generosity as we work on a permanent solution for CT. We are currently exploring options to build on a college campus and hope to share details soon.
• Construction continues on our new District Office on Barkley Boulevard, which will include an Early Learning Center and Professional Development Center for staff and community members.  The new District Office will be our first cross laminated timber (CLT) structure. CLT provides a warm, natural feel while still being sustainable. We plan to open in early 2024.

Other projects: electronic reader boards, elementary school improvements, safety measures

Electronic reader boards 
The 2018 bond helped fund the installation of new external school reader board signs. The signs provide a strong public presence to share messages such as school specific events and districtwide calendar reminders. Presently, our schools with reader boards are Alderwood, Parkview, Sunnyland and Cordata, Shuksan and Bellingham High. We will be installing a new reader board later this spring at Lowell Elementary to coincide with the relocation of its front office to 15th Street to improve ADA access.

We are in the design phase for the new playground at Silver Beach Elementary, and pending permits, we hope to start and finish construction this summer. Design work has started at Wade King Elementary for a garden installation, ADA path improvement and play field irrigation, which we hope to start and finish this summer. Improvements to Cordata Elementary’s parking lot and interior wayfinding are also planned for this summer.

Our bonds also allow us to continue to invest in enhanced safety and sustainability measures. We have security cameras installed and operating at all schools. Other important measures include installing intercoms and access control, door hardware replacement and window treatments. We are installing all new energy efficient LED lighting, and we have replaced all windows at Squalicum High School.

We are so grateful for your support of our district and our belief that our children and community deserve safe, sustainable, and inspiring spaces for learning. Let me know if you have any questions or comments on these exciting projects around our community.

Greg Baker