SB 5860 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning school board compensation.

SB 5860 increases school board member daily compensation from $50 to $100 (capped at $13,750 annually), requires cost-of-living adjustments via the consumer price index, and mandates that compensation come only from local tax funds - never state funds. It also requires all school board members to complete a state-funded training program on school finance within one year of the law's effective date (January 2027), with new members completing it during their first term. The bill prohibits charging directors for training attendance and allows members to waive pay for any period. It directly affects school board members and districts, aiming to broaden candidate diversity by reducing financial barriers to service.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Dec 9, 2025 Last action Feb 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Washington State school board director compensation to a maximum of $13,750 per year, replacing the previous limit of $4,800. It also shifts the responsibility for reviewing and adjusting these compensation limits from the Office of Financial Management to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Additionally, the requirement for higher compensation tiers to be approved at a regularly scheduled meeting was clarified, and the funding source restriction was made more explicit.

Scope change

The bill applies to all school district boards of directors in the state, maintaining the same scope but updating the financial parameters and administrative oversight.

FISCAL

Increased the annual compensation cap for school board directors from $4,800 to $13,750, while keeping the daily rate at $100.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that compensation exceeding $3,000 per year must be authorized at a regularly scheduled meeting and explicitly restricted payment to locally collected excess levy funds.

Changed the agency responsible for reviewing and adjusting compensation limits from the Office of Financial Management to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

TIMELINE

Updated the bill's procedural history to reflect its status as a substitute bill read for the first time on January 22, 2026.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM.

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Committee

Referred to Ways & Means.

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

And refer to Ways & Means.

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education at 8:00 AM.

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education at 10:30 AM.

upper

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors