As educators ramp up security, this Bellingham school is next in line for new safety feature
A Bellingham elementary school has plans to build a more secure entrance to its building.
The Bellingham Public Schools District applied for a permit to build something called a “security vestibule” at the entrance of Cordata Elementary School on Aldrich Road in north Bellingham.
“A security vestibule is a design element that supports our safety focus on using the front door as the primary entrance and exit for all traffic in and out of a school building,” Bellingham Public Schools spokeswoman Dana Smith said in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
The proposed security vestibule at Cordata Elementary School would allow for greater entrance and exit visibility as well as an ability to directly channel all campus visitors through the school’s main office, according to Smith.
All schools in the district are already equipped with doorbell-controlled entrances and exterior doors are kept locked when adults are not supervising entry and exit, Smith told The Herald.
But the security vestibule feature is included in all new buildings. The feature is being retrofitted in older buildings as the district is able to prioritize it, according to Smith. Cordata Elementary School opened in 2011.
“The proposed Cordata project is similar to the vestibules built on our newest schools like Options and Sehome high schools and Happy Valley, Alderwood, Parkview and Sunnyland elementary schools; we have also added a similar vestibule at Kulshan Middle School, thanks to recent voter-approved bonds,” Smith told The Herald.
The project is expected to cost about $34,000, according to permit documents. The district does not currently have an estimated construction timeline for the project as it is in the planning and design phase.
School districts across Washington, including districts in Olympia, Puyallup and Port Angeles, have prioritized security vestibule installation in recent years.
This story was originally published October 13, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
