LYNNWOOD— Members of the public showed up at the Edmonds School District Board Meeting Tuesday, July 7, in full force to urge the board to restore a reimagined School Resource Officer (SRO) program following a rise in gang violence and youth-related crime since its discontinuation.
The Edmonds School District discontinued the SRO Program in 2020 amid concerns of students being unfairly targeted. Since that time, district schools and surrounding communities have experienced growing safety concerns, including increased emergency calls, arrests, charges, and serious incidents involving youth gun violence.
Of the roughly 15 public comments Tuesday, more than a dozen spoke on the matter with another 45 written public comments submitted. Over thirty others, including Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst, were not allowed to speak due to the 30-minute time limit allocated for public comments.
Marie MacCoy, LICSW, of MacCoy Consulting, LLC and the Jaguar Community Association was first to speak noting that the increase in youth-related violence, specifically within the close proximity to Meadowdale High School and Meadowdale Middle School has her neighborhood on “high alert” with many families feeling unsafe that their children being on, or close, to school property.
“We all want schools that are not only welcoming and supportive but prepared, protected, and responsive whenever safety concerns arise. School safety and student support must go hand in hand,” said MacCoy.
MacCoy, alongside ACCESS Project Founder Wally Webster II, has been leading the charge for the district to restore the SRO for some time with the two, most recently, presenting to the Lynnwood Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting on the matter.
The ACCESS Project, itself, was born from the ashes of an uptake in youth-related crime – stemming from a Lynnwood ‘Let’s Talk About Safety’ meeting when, as the story goes, Webster decided it was best to take measures into his own hands instead of pointing fingers.
Webster’s nonprofit recently reviewed data from the Lynnwood Police Department involving three Edmonds School District schools located in Lynnwood: Meadowdale High School, Meadowdale Middle School, and College Place Middle School. The data indicates that removing SROs did not eliminate the safety challenges facing schools. Instead, those challenges remained and, in key areas, increased.
Camilla Gomez, a Woodinville wife and mother who has worked with numerous Edmonds School District students over the years through various nonprofit organizations, said the “increase in youth violence in our communities is showing a troubling pattern,” citing Lynnwood Police Data which shows case reports of youth violence rose from 49 to 91 since the SRO was discontinued. Calls for service, Gomez continued, rose from 373 to 437 and arrests doubled from seven to 14.
“It’s important not to focus on one number but a pattern across multiple categories. When case reports, calls for service, and arrest all rise during the same five-year period that deserves serious attention,” said Gomez. “If the current approach is not reducing these problems what additional safety tools would the district be willing to consider?”
Lynnwood High School student, Bothell resident, and third-year peer mediator, Sage P. shared a student’s perspective about being in a lockdown her sophomore year that spanned 55 minutes.
“Each lockdown the same thought goes through our head; what if it’s a gun?” Said Sage. “I urge the School District Board to take immediate action to reinstate a reimagined School Resource Officer program.”
According to the K-12 School Shooting database in 2025 there were a total of 233 school shootings, Sage added, hammering in her point
Tabitha Johnson, who’s 13-year-old daughter Jayda Johnson was killed by a stray bullet in the Alderwood Mall in 2024, mentioned she was hesitant to speak at Tuesday’s meeting but ultimately knew that “our kids are in trouble” and she had to do what she could to ensure other families won’t have to go through what she, and hers, did.
“Kids are carrying guns and bringing them into places where our children are every day. It can be a mall, a school, a park, or somewhere else we think is safe. We like to tell ourselves that can never happen to my child, but it can happen to any family. I can’t help but wonder maybe, just maybe, if an officer had been stationed at the mall that day maybe my daughter would still be alive,” said Johnson. “If having officers in schools, or places where kids gather, can prevent one family from going through what mine has gone through then I believe it’s worth considering.”
Support 7 Executive Director and former Lynnwood City Council member Shannon Sessions shared that she “strongly supports” bringing School Resource Officers back to local high schools and allowing them to support middle schools as well.
Sessions spoke out against the “shortsighted” removal of the School Resource Officers six years ago when, what she called a “small but vocal group” called for the removal of the program because they believed students were being unfairly targeted.
“Now years later, as predicted, the pendulum has swung too far the other direction,” Sessions said. “We are seeing an increase in gang activity, youth violence, threats, and safety concerns in and around our schools and in our community at levels and starting at younger ages than we have ever seen before.”
Through her work in Support 7 Sessions has worked with families during times of crises dealing with youth violence, suicides, and reckless traffic collisions when their lives are changed forever — knowing that some of these incidents could have been prevented.
“School Resource Officers are not just police officers, they are trained relationship builders, mentors, trusted adults who help prevent dangerous situations before they ever make the news. Often, it’s the only space where some of these students have a positive fellowship with officers. While bringing back SROs may come with some added costs it is a worthwhile long-term investment, especially since the school districts share this expense with their law enforcement partners,” said Sessions. “This is not about politics, this is about student safety, mentorship, prevention, and restoring positive connections between youth and law enforcement. Our students, teachers, administrators, and our community deserve every available tool and support system to help keep our schools safe.”
Bridgette Lynnville, holding back tears, shared that her son was killed in 2022 from a youth violence incident involving gang activity. She wonders if a School Resource Officer had been around if they could have influenced her son to not hang around such “poor influences.”
“Since removing the SROs the rise in violence has gone up 87% just in the Edmonds School District. What are we doing if we’re not keeping our kids safe? What are we doing if we’re not setting them up for success?” Asked Lynnville, sharing that she was terrified to put her 15-year-old son in public school.
ACCESS Project Founder Wally Webster II, passionately requested the board restore the SRO program, but in a way that “reflects what has been learned and responds to today’s needs.”
“That means a program that helps protects students and staff in times of threat, crises, emergencies. It means a program that builds constructive and trusted relationships between students and law enforcement. It means a program that supports preventive and early intervention and deescalation, not only among the students but also the counselors and administrators, and behavioral health specialists and community organizations,” said Webster II. “It also means that clear limits, routine school discipline, should remain the responsibility of school staff and not law enforcement.”
According to Mayor George Hurst, Mayor of Lynnwood, since 2022, there have been 14 shooting incidents in Lynnwood with 18 teenage victims, resulting in 5 fatalities. In one tragic incident, an older community member sitting in his vehicle and enjoying his traditional morning coffee was caught in the middle of gunfire involving teenagers and was killed.
Community members and students are calling for action that reflects current conditions and real public safety concerns. Supporters also recognize that previous SRO models had shortcomings and should not simply be restored without meaningful change.
A reimagined SRO Program would include clear safeguards, accountability, student voice, and defined protocols. The goal is not to criminalize students, but to strengthen safety, prevention, trust, early intervention, and communication among schools, families, law enforcement, and community partners.
Supporters believe the program should be part of a broader school safety strategy that also includes mental health support, restorative practices, prevention services, peer mediation, family engagement, and strong school-community partnerships.
“This request is not about returning to the past,” said Wally Webster II, founder of The ACCESS Project. “It is about moving forward with a thoughtful, accountable, student-centered approach to school and community safety. Our students deserve safe places to learn, our educators deserve support, and our families deserve peace of mind.”
About The ACCESS Project
Launched in late 2022, The ACCESS Project was founded by Wally Webster in response to growing concerns about youth violence and emotional and behavioral challenges affecting young people in the community. The ACCESS Project is a collaborative movement that brings together government officials, educators, faith leaders, community organizations, law enforcement, and wellness professionals to support and uplift youth in South Snohomish County.
Since the March 2026 shooting at Meadowdale Park, MacCoy and Wally Webster II has met with numerous community leaders, parents, educators, faith leaders, nonprofit organizations, business leaders, and concerned residents, regarding the SRO restoration matter.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
