Committee hears contentious SB 6260: bus depreciation, MSOC holdback and Running Start funding cut draw broad opposition

SB 6,260 drew the longest, most contested testimony of the session. The bill bundles three changes: (1) extend school bus depreciation schedules to 180 months (15 years), a change staff estimated would reduce state transportation reimbursement in the near term and produce roughly $20–21 million in state savings per fiscal year while pushing larger final depreciation payments into later years; (2) authorize OSPI to withhold up to 1.9% of MSOC allocations to centrally pay licensing for a High School & Beyond universal online platform (estimated local reduction of roughly $1.2 million in FY27 statewide); and (3) reduce the funded Running Start maximum enrollment from 1.4 FTE to 1.2 FTE, which the fiscal note estimates would save state dollars but which college and student witnesses said would remove summer access and reduce students' ability to complete degrees.