Last month, the Northshore School Board voted to remove the only armed officer from our campus at Bothell High School in Washington, Officer Garrett Ware. The district’s own evaluation recommended keeping the Student Resource Officer (SRO) program. Our principal recommended keeping it. Students, parents, and teachers packed the meeting room and begged them to keep it.

Four members of the school board voted to terminate the program anyway. By doing so, they deliberately ignored the will of the students at our school and stripped our campus of a sense of safety and continuity that cannot be replaced. We became another familiar story: our common sense voices were ignored in favor of a political agenda that prioritizes “equity” over the safety of the students the Board is supposed to serve.

When students first learned that the Board was planning to cut funding for our SRO program, we were shocked and devastated. Officer Ware has served as our School Resource Officer since 2017. His presence on our campus is simply irreplaceable. Officer Ware does more than just protect us physically — his involvement in student life boosts morale, promotes positive behavior, and cultivates a community spirit like no other. He has been a mentor and friend to countless students over the years. He has helped students successfully navigate difficult high school years, from social anxiety to drugs and alcohol. Importantly, his presence on campus taught students to trust and respect police officers who are there to help when things go wrong.

They went wrong just days ago, when a student brought a kitchen knife to campus. One building was evacuated. We were in lockdown for nearly an hour. Officer Ware responded immediately and handled the situation. Next fall, he’ll be replaced by an unarmed campus supervisor. I’d like the four board members who voted to end this program to explain to me — and to every student who was sitting in a locked classroom that afternoon — how that’s an improvement.

Our shock quickly turned into action. We started a petition on Change.org that quickly amassed over 4,000 signatures from students, parents, and staff across the community. People shared their own touching personal stories about Officer Ware in the comments. We showed up to the school board meeting, where dozens of us shared personal stories about Officer Ware and what his presence means to our school.

The board voted to terminate the program anyway. Their stated reason? The program needed to be more “equitable” and that it made some students “uncomfortable.” They offered no evidence for either claim. A student survey showed overwhelming support for Officer Ware. Students from all walks of life, including members of the Black Student Union, came out to support him. The board members were offered a chance to shadow Officer Ware to witness firsthand his positive presence on our campus — they declined.

After the vote, we organized a walkout. Several hundred students left class and marched a mile from Bothell High to City Hall, chanting “We want Ware” and “Vote them out.” No outside groups pushed us to do it. No adults organized it. It was entirely student-led because this has been a student issue from the beginning.

People may think our generation is civically apathetic and lazy, but we’re just getting started. We gave the four school board members a deadline of June 1 to defend their votes with facts and data or resign. They once again ignored us.

I’m a senior. I’m graduating in a few weeks and this decision won’t affect me personally. But it will affect my younger classmates and every student who walks through those doors after them. As one of my classmates’ protest signs read: Our safety is more important than their politics. The school board may not be listening, but our community is. Board members are elected. If they won’t revisit this decision, our community will hold them accountable at the ballot box.

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Brady Minneman is a senior at Bothell High School.

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My School Board Removed Our Only Armed Officer For ‘Equity.’ Then A Knife Was Brought To School