Todd Biddle, an assistant principal at Bothell High School, told the North Shore School District Board of Directors on Jan. 13 that he has resigned after learning his position is among those slated for elimination under the district’s staffing reductions.

"I have tendered my resignation, and January 31st will be my last day in North Shore School District," Biddle said during the association and public comment portion of the board’s working session.

The remarks followed a formal letter read to the board by Tiffany Rodriguez, principal of Innovation Lab High School, representing the North Shore Association of School Administrators. Rodriguez and colleagues said proposed cuts to administrative teams at each of the district’s four comprehensive high schools — and earlier reductions at elementary schools — have already strained safety and student support.

"Administrators are first responders when it comes to student safety at our schools," the administrators’ letter said. It listed campus duties that administrators handle daily, including responding to threats, supervising lunches and evening sporting events, and intervening in incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying.

Rodriguez cited data district administrators compiled last year comparing assistant principal staffing at 4A high schools statewide. The letter said the state average in 2024 was 3.57 assistant principals for schools with average enrollment of about 1,992 students (roughly a 558:1 student-to-AP ratio). Using those 2024 numbers, the letter said, cutting to two assistant principals at each North Shore comprehensive high school would raise the student-to-AP ratio "to around 750 students per AP at Inglemore and to 950 students per AP at North Creek," where the state average was cited as about 558 students per AP.

Biddle told the board that the personnel reductions have felt impersonal and that district leaders did not respond to requests for support during the process. He described taking on difficult human‑resources duties last year and said he and other affected administrators have not received clarity about the elimination process.

Board members thanked those who spoke and moved on to the rest of the agenda. No formal action on staffing changes occurred at the Jan. 13 working session; the board heard the comments during the association and public comment portion of the meeting. Superintendent Michael Tully and deputy superintendent Jolynn Berge answered questions later in the meeting on budget and staffing processes.

The public comments and Biddle’s resignation were recorded as part of the meeting’s public comment period; board members said they would include feedback and concerns in later budget discussions and in the superintendent’s evaluation materials.