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Bellingham School District, Washington

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Bellingham School District
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District details
School board members: 5
Next election: November 4, 2025
Students: 11,487 (2023-2024)
Schools: 25 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Bellingham School District is a school district in Washington (Whatcom County). During the 2024 school year, 11,487 students attended one of the district's 25 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, finances, academics, students, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
School board Elections Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

School board

The Bellingham School District consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameSeatYear assumed officeYear term ends
Scott RitcheyPosition 320232027
Katie RosePosition 220192027
Camille Diaz HacklerPosition 120112027
Jenn MasonPosition 420172025
Douglas BenjaminPosition 520142025

Elections

Click here for more information about any school board elections that Ballotpedia has covered in this district.

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District map

School district map

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $23,548,000 $2,059 10%
Local: $73,154,000 $6,395 31%
State: $141,946,000 $12,409 60%
Total: $238,648,000 $20,863
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $266,552,000 $23,302
Total Current Expenditures: $192,196,000 $16,801
Instructional Expenditures: $118,596,000 $10,367 44%
Student and Staff Support: $27,904,000 $2,439 10%
Administration: $19,408,000 $1,696 7%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $26,288,000 $2,298 10%
Total Capital Outlay: $53,224,000 $4,652
Construction: $50,472,000 $4,412
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $629,000 $54
Interest on Debt: $13,292,000 $1,161


Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2018-2019 47 55 20-24 24 11-19 50 54
2017-2018 53 58 20-24 27 20-29 51 61
2016-2017 55 61 25-29 30 20-29 52 62
2015-2016 58 64 35-39 32 20-29 56 65
2014-2015 59 64 40-44 35 30-39 59 65
2013-2014 69 76 35-39 47 50-54 73 74
2012-2013 70 75 45-49 48 40-44 70 75
2011-2012 69 73 60-64 46 45-49 75
2010-2011 67 75 50-54 43 35-39 72

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2018-2019 63 66 40-44 39 20-29 60 71
2017-2018 64 67 30-34 41 30-39 61 71
2016-2017 65 61 35-39 41 35-39 67 72
2015-2016 70 68 50-54 47 30-39 71 76
2014-2015 65 69 50-54 43 30-39 66 71
2013-2014 79 80 60-64 61 60-64 81 83
2012-2013 80 81 60-64 65 65-69 80 83
2011-2012 78 78 70-74 59 50-54 82
2010-2011 76 78 70-74 58 50-54 81

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 78 85-89 >=50 65-69 >=50 80-84 79
2018-2019 87 85-89 >=80 80-84 >=50 80-89 89
2017-2018 95 >=90 >=80 90-94 >=50 >=90 95
2016-2017 85 85-89 >=50 70-74 <50 85-89 89
2015-2016 82 80-84 >=50 75-79 <50 >=90 85
2014-2015 82 80-89 <50 65-69 <50 85-89 86
2013-2014 79 85-89 >=50 60-64 >=50 70-79 81
2012-2013 78 80-89 >=50 60-64 >=50 >=80 80
2011-2012 75 80-89 60-69 55-59 >=50 78
2010-2011 75 75-79 40-59 45-49 <50 >=50 80


Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 11,487 -1.1
2022-2023 11,614 1.5
2021-2022 11,439 -0.4
2020-2021 11,484 -4.7
2019-2020 12,027 1.0
2018-2019 11,907 1.5
2017-2018 11,732 1.8
2016-2017 11,524 1.8
2015-2016 11,312 1.7
2014-2015 11,117 -0.3
2013-2014 11,152 0.0
2012-2013 11,148 1.4
2011-2012 10,996 0.5
2010-2011 10,936 0.5
2009-2010 10,880 2.1
2008-2009 10,652 -1.4
2007-2008 10,805 0.8
2006-2007 10,714 1.3
2005-2006 10,575 -1.8
2004-2005 10,763 2.1
2003-2004 10,537 0.8
2002-2003 10,455 0.7
2001-2002 10,378 -0.2
2000-2001 10,398 0.2
1999-2000 10,382 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Bellingham School District (%) Washington K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.9 1.1
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 4.7 8.9
Black 1.6 4.8
Hispanic 19.4 26.1
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.3 1.5
Two or More Races 8.6 8.9
White 63.7 48.3

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Bellingham School District had 671.46 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 17.11.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 3.50
Kindergarten: 74.93
Elementary: 304.22
Secondary: 288.81
Total: 671.46

Bellingham School District employed 19.28 district administrators and 34.66 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 19.28
District Administrative Support: 37.38
School Administrators: 34.66
School Administrative Support: 46.78
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 144.13
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 41.36
Total Guidance Counselors: 28.90
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 8.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 20.90
Librarians/Media Specialists: 13.12
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 59.34
Other Support Services: 229.48


Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Bellingham School District operates 25 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Alderwood Elementary School282PK-5
Bellingham Family Partnership Program254KG-12
Bellingham High School1,1889-12
Bellingham Re-Engagement Program1029-12
Birchwood Elementary School362PK-5
Carl Cozier Elementary School342PK-5
Columbia Elementary School210PK-5
Cordata Elementary School353PK-5
Fairhaven Middle School5816-8
Geneva Elementary School424PK-5
Happy Valley Elementary School468PK-5
Kulshan Middle School5996-8
Lowell Elementary School308PK-5
Northern Heights Elementary Schl420PK-5
Options High School2069-12
Parkview Elementary School387PK-5
Roosevelt Elementary School373PK-5
Sehome High School1,1759-12
Shuksan Middle School5786-8
Silver Beach Elementary School342PK-5
Squalicum High School1,2419-12
Sunnyland Elementary School328PK-5
Visions (Seamar Youth Center)106-12
Wade King Elementary School315PK-5
Whatcom Middle School6396-8

About school boards

Education legislation in Washington

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Washington
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External links

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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