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Panel debates raising school board pay, childcare and mandatory training in SB 5860

Senate Early Learning & K‑12 Education Committee · January 14, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

SB 5860 would raise authorized school board pay and add childcare as an allowable expense while requiring a finance training; supporters said modest compensation and training broaden participation, critics warned about levy/LEA fund misuse and possible conflicts of interest.

Senator Cortez introduced Senate Bill 5860, which raises the amount a school director may receive from $50 to $100 per day and increases the annual cap from $4,800 to $13,750; the bill authorizes (but does not require) districts to pay childcare expenses when directors attend meetings and directs the Office of Financial Management to review compensation amounts every five years.

Alex Fair Fortune, committee staff, summarized the bill's training provisions directing the Washington State School Directors Association…

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