BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Elementary school closures could be on the horizon in Bellingham.

Bellingham Public Schools’ Facilities Planning Task Force released their recommendations on Thursday, May 28, following several months of meetings.

The task force concluded that the district should close Carl Cozier and Columbia elementary schools to account for declining enrollment. The soonest those schools would close would be fall 2027.

The task force stated that, if the closures move forward, the district should establish a new work group to determine what schools those students would be redirected to.

Its report also recommended the district move ahead with rebuilding Roosevelt Elementary, which it found to be more prepared for a rebuild than Carl Cozier and Columbia. It noted that Columbia specifically had shrinking neighborhood enrollment paired with the age and condition of the building that made it a candidate for closing.

The task force added that the district should repurpose the elementary school buildings if they were to close and keep them available to reopen in the event of increased district enrollment. It advised that one of the buildings could be used as a swing space for Roosevelt students while the new school is being built.

The task force is made up of 34 members that include teachers, administrators, parents and community members.

You can view the full list of recommendations and the task force’s rationale in its more than 500-page report.