Parents at Edmonds school don't want a police officer on campus

EDMONDS, Wash. — Like most parents, Jennifer Cail would do just about anything to keep her kids safe, but she doesn’t want a police officer at their school.

That may sound counterintuitive, but she says she’s got a good reason and a number of Edmonds Heights parents feel exactly the same way.

“It makes me very nervous to have a police officer who is armed,” Cail said from the porch of her Lynnwood home. She has three children who all attend Edmonds Heights.

Edmonds Heights is a unique place; it offers classes to home-schooled kids grades K-12, so not every kid is on campus every day. It also shares a campus with the alternative high school, Scriber Lake.

Scriber Lake is the only high school in the Edmonds School District that doesn’t have a resource officer.

It’s the district’s southernmost school, set back in the woods, and last school year police were called to campus 135 times.

“Anything ranging from a trespasser on campus to an issue with a student, they felt like they needed law enforcement,” District Assistant Superintendent Greg Schwab said.

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​Schwab says 10 years ago, the district had to cut funds but now the money’s there to add an officer to Scriber Lake and because of proximity, Edmonds Heights, too.

Things were headed that direction until parents including Cail raised the red flag.

“I think the thing we didn’t anticipate very well was just the need, I think to process with this campus a little more than we may have had to with our other high schools — it’s a unique place with a lot of unique programs,” Schwab explained.

Every child on campus 12 and under has to be accompanied by a parent, and Jennifer says nearly every parent on campus has had active shooter training.

“We have an almost one-to-one parent-student ratio,” Cail said.

Concerned parents have met with Schwab, who says the district is likely going to survey parents before moving forward. Because ultimately, everyone the same thing — a place where kids feel safe.

“It’s our approach that we have a high level of safety and security for all of our students and all of our staff,” Schwab concluded.

“It feels like the district is listening to parents and hearing our concerns and what makes Edmonds Heights different, what makes our children different,” Cail said.

Cox Media Group