A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

You may have seen a Bellingham Herald story, presenting news of citations to Bellingham Public Schools (BPS) employees. We can confirm Bellingham Police issued citations to three BPS employees on Dec. 7. Two of the employees work at Squalicum and one works at Bellingham High School. Bellingham Police are sharing information related to the citations. Student privacy laws prevent us from sharing certain information about the situation.

The staff members who received the citations are continuing to work for our district in their normal capacity, and they have our support to do so. We do not believe the staff members pose a safety risk to students, and the allegations against them do not involve conduct endangering students, beyond an alleged failure to report student-to-student sexual contact.

Our staff, including our administrators, work through challenging circumstances every day in support of students. This includes making difficult decisions, referring incidents to partner agencies and navigating crises.

We believe in the safety and protection of all students—it’s our number one priority. We ensure all accusations of mistreatment are addressed. We want to remind our community that we have a tip line for information, tips or concerns regarding a safety issue in our schools. You can text or call 844-310-9560 or visit bellinghamschools.org/safe for confidential, anonymous, two-way communication with our safety staff.

All Bellingham Public Schools staff are considered mandatory reporters and go through annual trainings on reporting any suspected child abuse or neglect to law enforcement and child protection services. We take our duty as mandatory reporters seriously.

We are reviewing our training materials and processes regarding mandatory reporting and are working to make improvements in partnership with Bellingham Police.

If you have questions, feel free to email me at greg.baker@bellinghamschools.org but please know that there are limitations on what we can share.