Educators urge committee not to cut National Board stipends; substitute bill would reduce bonuses to $3,000

The Senate Ways & Means Committee heard extensive public testimony opposing a proposed substitute to Senate Bill 5,737, which reduces annual bonuses for National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). Under the proposed substitute, the base NBCT annual bonus would be set at $3,000 in the 2025–26 school year and then increase with inflation in subsequent years; an additional high-poverty school bonus would also be reduced to $3,000 and indexed to inflation thereafter. Committee staff estimated the substitute would produce state savings of roughly $37.6 million in fiscal year 2027 and about $115 million across a four-year outlook.

Educators, district leaders and statewide associations testified strongly in opposition. Larry Delaney, president of the Washington Education Association, said the…