Bond Would Flip Lynden High School’s Footprint and Add Modern Labs and Arts Center

By Fernando Gonzalez, Bellingham Metro News – Published on September 23, 2025.

LYNDEN, WA — Lynden voters will decide on November 4, 2025 whether to approve a $129 million bond to replace Lynden High School with a new, comprehensive campus. If passed, the project would reorient the building itself longways north to south, a change that would completely alter how the high school looks, where it sits on the site, and how students and families move through the property.

Today the main classroom blocks run east to west, with California Style open campus in the back along Vinup Road and Bradley. Under the bond plan, the new school would be constructed north to south toward the center of the grounds. The west portion of the current campus, where much of the existing building stands, would be cleared and converted into expanded parking areas. A future roundabout is noted near the Bradley Road entrance in district materials [conceptual], and a designated bus loop is also observed in renderings at the front of the campus. The current campus does not have a loop, but rather a straight-line front pickup and drop-off.

Academic spaces would be rebuilt around flexible classrooms and industry-aligned career and technical education labs, giving students hands-on pathways in fields such as technology, trades, agriculture and health. Superintendent David Vanderyacht stated in a public response to a comment that “there is also a state approved curriculum that would allow us to create high school classes to give students ‘pre-apprentice’ experience and earn credits for graduation. Could be in electrical, plumbing, framing, interior design, accounting, etc.” He added that while not every trade could be offered, providing students with exposure to essential careers in the trades remains a key goal of the plan.

The proposal also features a new performing arts center, updated commons and support spaces, and modern gyms and locker rooms. Mechanical systems would be overhauled, with reliable heating and ventilation designed to improve comfort and air quality while lowering long-term operating costs. Vanderyacht stressed that the district is prioritizing “function over fancy” in design decisions, with a community oversight committee planned to ensure responsible stewardship of tax dollars.

Athletics would remain a central part of the site. The football field and track are shown to stay in the stadium area, with fields and courts reorganized to fit the north–south building footprint and the reworked parking layout. The Lions Stadium itself would remain but be expanded as-well as the Home Grandstands, while the main gym would stay in place with seismic and ADA upgrades. One of the current baseball fields would be removed, though district leaders pointed to city plans for additional fields at Bender Park that could provide space in the future.

The district notes that much of the current campus dates to 1980 and is increasingly expensive to maintain, while enrollment and the city’s population have grown steadily. Lynden’s population has climbed from roughly 4,000 in 1980 to more than 17,000 today, a trend the district says this project is designed to accommodate. Vanderyacht said the high school’s core capacity is being scaled back from 1,250 students to 1,100 in order to keep costs closer to the 2024 plan, but clarified that “hallways, restrooms, and the cafeteria [will be] sized for 1,250 students.” This, he said, would avoid the overcrowding issues that have arisen at the high school and elementary schools where portables were added without expanded infrastructure.

Financing details provided by the district list the measure at $129 million, described as a $28.5 million reduction from the 2024 request. If passed, the district would also receive an estimated $31 million from the state’s School Construction Assistance Program, bringing the construction budget to about $160 million. Collections would begin in 2027 at an estimated $1.13 per $1,000 of assessed property value [cost estimate]. Like a mortgage or car loan, interest and fees over the term of repayment would bring the total cost to taxpayers to an estimated $253 million by 2050, a figure that has generated discussion in the community. Vanderyacht explained, “$253 [million] is not a ‘bare minimum’ but rather a high end (worst case) scenario. It can be confusing when I say ‘conservative’ estimate but what I mean is that we inflate the interest rates so we don’t say one thing and then it turns out to be higher.”

For context, Bellingham’s Sehome High School underwent a full rebuild a few years ago at a cost of roughly $103 million. Lynden’s proposal comes in at about $26 million more, though it is important to note that comparisons are not one-to-one given differences in design, inflation, and the expanded scope of the Lynden project. It is also important to remember that Lynden has only two high schools in total—one private Christian school and this single public high school, which serves a population of about 17,000 and continues to grow. At this time, there are no plans for an additional public high school, making the upcoming bond vote a pivotal moment for the community’s educational future.

Bottom line: the bond would not just rebuild classrooms. It would transform the high school’s orientation from east–west to north–south, shift the primary building to the middle of the property, convert the west side into parking, and deliver updated labs, a performing arts center, modern gyms, pre-apprenticeship opportunities, and upgraded systems aimed at safer, more efficient operations.

Fernando Gonzalez, Bellingham Metro News.