A community task force formed earlier this year by Bellingham Public Schools has recommended the district close two elementary schools, Carl Cozier Elementary and Columbia Elementary, as part of a facilities plan designed to address declining enrollment trends projected to continue through 2036. Superintendent Greg Baker released the recommendation publicly on May 28, inviting community feedback before any final decisions are made.
The Facilities Planning Task Force was convened in February 2026 and comprised parents, educators, and community members charged with reviewing enrollment data, building condition assessments, and programmatic needs across the district's elementary schools. The group met through the spring, examining scenarios that ranged from minor boundary adjustments to school consolidations, before settling on its formal recommendation.
Bellingham School District, like many districts across Washington state, has experienced steady enrollment decline over the past decade. Birth rates have dropped, housing costs have pushed some families out of the city, and shifting demographics have left several school buildings operating well below their designed capacity. Running under-enrolled schools is expensive, as fixed costs for building maintenance, administration, and utilities do not scale down proportionally when student counts fall.
Carl Cozier Elementary, located in the Columbia neighborhood near downtown Bellingham, has served the district for decades. Columbia Elementary sits nearby in the same general corridor of the city. The task force's recommendation to close both schools reflects the concentration of under-enrollment in that part of Bellingham, though the district has not yet specified where students from those schools would be reassigned if closures proceed.
Superintendent Baker emphasized that the recommendation is the starting point, not a final decision. The district is now in a community engagement phase, asking families, staff, and neighborhood residents to review the task force's full recommendation document and submit feedback. A Q&A session recording is also available for those who want to hear the task force's reasoning firsthand before weighing in.
School closures are among the most emotionally charged decisions a district can face. Elementary schools anchor neighborhoods, serve as community hubs, and often carry deep histories for families who have sent multiple generations through the same building. Bellingham has navigated school closure conversations before, and those processes have frequently extended over many months as the district worked to build community understanding and trust before any votes were cast.
The Bellingham School District serves approximately 10,000 students across the city. If closures are approved, the timeline for implementation has not been publicly announced, though major facilities decisions of this kind typically require at least one full school year of transition planning before changes take effect. The district's school board would ultimately vote on any closure recommendation.
For parents and community members who want to stay informed, the district is collecting feedback through its website and will likely schedule additional public input sessions as the process moves forward. Families at Cozier and Columbia in particular should watch for direct communications from the district about what the proposed changes would mean for their children's school assignments and transportation.
The full facilities task force recommendation is available on the district's task force page. Residents can submit feedback through the district's online form, linked from the superintendent's letter. This is an issue that will likely be the subject of sustained community conversation well into the fall semester.
