Washington high school considers removing police from campus despite parent pushback, safety concerns

Bothell High School families are sounding the alarm ahead of a Northshore School Board vote that could end the school’s longstanding School Resource Officer (SRO) program despite widespread support from parents, teachers, and administrators.

Under Washington state law, districts are required to review SRO agreements annually and approve contracts before each school year begins. According to KOMO News, Bothell High School is now the only campus in the Northshore School District that still maintains an SRO presence after the board voted to eliminate the program at Woodinville High School in 2022.

The upcoming vote, scheduled for Monday, May 11, has sparked growing concern among community members who say removing the officer would undermine school safety at a time when violence and security threats in Washington schools remain a serious issue.

In a message distributed to Bothell High School families on April 22, district officials acknowledged strong support for the SRO program during the district’s 2025–26 evaluation process. Surveys conducted among students reportedly showed that most Bothell High students said they feel safe at school “frequently” or “almost always.”

School administrators have recommended continuing the program, but the final decision rests with the district’s five-member school board. Some parents fear that support for the SRO program is steadily eroding after margins of approval narrowed each year. The board approved Bothell’s SRO contract unanimously in 2023. That support slipped to 4-1 in 2024 and narrowed further to a 3-2 vote in 2025. Families now worry that recent board turnover, combined with previous efforts to phase out police presence in schools, could lead to the program’s elimination altogether.

The debate comes as Seattle-area schools continue grappling with violent incidents and ongoing concerns over campus security following widespread efforts to remove law enforcement officers from schools after the 2020 George Floyd riots.

Seattle Public Schools eliminated its School Engagement Officer program in 2020, arguing that police presence contributed to racial disparities in student discipline. Since then, the district has struggled to respond effectively to escalating violence and threats on campus.

In June 2024, 17-year-old Garfield High School student Amarr Murphy-Paine was killed while attempting to break up a fight outside the school. His family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Seattle Public Schools, alleging the district ignored repeated warnings about safety failures and failed to follow emergency response procedures. That same day at Garfield, another student allegedly fired an airsoft gun at a teacher while a separate student reportedly fled campus after refusing a backpack search tied to concerns about a possible weapon. A 17-year-old girl was shot at a Garfield High bus stop, a student was fatally shot inside Ingraham High School in 2022, and Ingraham students were previously threatened by an armed individual carrying what witnesses described as an AR-15-style rifle. Earlier this school year, 2 students were gunned down at a bus stop outside Rainier Beach High School.

New Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Ben Shuldiner told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI last month that his priority is “the safety of our children,” adding that he wants a stronger relationship with Seattle police. He noted that the district is reviewing cameras, single points of entry, security film, and fencing, warning that many Seattle schools are too open, saying people can “walk right into the schools” and that “that’s not acceptable.”