News & Information

At the Dec. 11 meeting, the Bellingham School District Board of Directors elected a president and vice president from among its members. The School Board elected Stephen Schoenfeld as president and Dr. Ken Gass as vice president, effective immediately. The Board consists of five members elected at large by district voters. Each member is elected for a four-year, unpaid term. Annually, the Board elects its officers.

Schoenfeld was elected to the School Board in November 2001 and re-elected in 2005. He serves as the Washington State School Directors' Association representative on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Board, which assists schools in operating student programs that foster achievement, respect, equity, enthusiasm and excellence in a safe and organized environment. Schoenfeld received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin. He is self-employed as a mediator/labor arbitrator and has taught at Western Washington University. He moved to Bellingham from Wisconsin after a 30-year law career. He is married and has three children. One child is a district graduate and one is a district high school student.

Dr. Gass was appointed to the School Board in 1998, elected in 1999, and re-elected in 2003 and 2007. He graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, and received his doctorate and medical degrees from the University of Chicago. He and his wife have lived in Bellingham since 1977 and have two children, both district graduates. Dr. Gass is a pediatrician with PeaceHealth Medical Group.

Ann Whitmyer just completed a one-year term as Board president. She was appointed to the School Board in April 1997, elected in November 1997, re-elected in 1999, 2003 and 2007. After graduating from Indiana University, she worked as a teacher and librarian in another state. Whitmyer moved to Bellingham with her husband and children in 1984. They have two children, both district graduates.

Board member Kelly Bashaw was elected to the School Board in 2007. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Tulsa. She works as an educational planner, financial aid advisor and grant coordinator at Whatcom Community College. Bashaw has lived in Bellingham since 1994 and has two children who have attended district schools.

Elected to the School Board in 2005, board member Dr. Melody Rhode earned her doctorate and master's degrees in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary Graduate School of Psychology and her bachelor's from Wheaton College in communications and psychology. She works in private practice in Bellingham as a psychologist, marriage and family therapist, professional/business consultant and life coach. Dr. Rhode and her husband have two children who currently attend district schools.