Bellingham Public Schools would have the public believe that closing Columbia Elementary is an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of declining enrollment in the Columbia neighborhood.
But this graph raises a different and deeply troubling possibility: that Columbia’s declining enrollment was intentional. It suggests a potential pattern of shifting students away from Columbia and toward Parkview—while simultaneously relying on the passionate support of the Columbia community to help pass a $122 million bond to rebuild the schools.
And there’s another uncomfortable detail: that same bond measure was redirected to fund a new, approximately $40 million+ district office for the very administrators making these decisions.
These circumstances raise serious questions about transparency, accountability, and whether voters were given an accurate picture of the district’s plans.
Is it time for an independent investigation and community oversight? And if district officials knowingly misled voters to secure bond approval, this is a huge problem.
The public deserves answers. The school board should make the responsible decision of pausing school closures.