Editor's note: This commentary was authored by Chehalis School Board members Kelsi Hamilton and J. Vander Stoep. It was cosigned by the school board members listed at the conclusion.
As local school board members from Lewis County, we can report that our districts face rising costs, insufficient state funding in various categories, and repeated challenges passing local levies.
Senate Bill 5860 is being considered in Olympia and, though well-intended, it would make these challenges worse — not better.
Today, school board members serve without pay. That has been the case since statehood. SB 5860 would allow school board directors to be paid up to $13,750. Any increase beyond $3,000 would come from local levy funds.
Voters are already frustrated and skeptical about supporting local school levies. Meanwhile, schools are being required by Olympia to do more without additional funding. (Which is illegal per RCW 43.135.060, we might add.)
Today, unpaid school directors are also local taxpayers. We can legitimately say we have no personal gain from this volunteer work and are only here to improve education in service to students, families and the communities in which we live. Making school board’s paid position changes all of that, starting with the fact it would take funds away from education
Even if the amounts involved are relatively small, it is real money and the perception matters. Asking voters to approve levies that could be used to pay board members will fuel distrust. Board members who accept compensation under this model risk being seen as prioritizing themselves, instead of just education. That perception is likely to translate into more “no” votes at the ballot box, making future levy approvals even harder and further harming students.
Levy dollars exist because the state does not adequately fund public education. Districts rely on levies to support programs and services families assume are already covered: academic supports, extracurricular activities, staffing and basic operations. Every levy dollar is already stretched.
Additionally, SB 5860 singles out school board members by imposing an additional state-directed training mandate that is not required of any other elected officials. Training is valuable, and many school board members already pursue it voluntarily. The mandate ignores the fact that local voters across the state elect their school board members. It is the voters who decide if the school board candidates are qualified, not the state Legislature.
City councils, county commissioners and even state legislators are not required to complete mandatory training as a condition of service. If training in public finance is essential for making decisions that affect students and taxpayers — and it is — then state lawmakers should hold themselves to the same standard. Accountability should be consistent, not selectively applied to only school boards.
Most concerning, SB 5860 avoids the real issue facing Washington’s schools: chronic underfunding of education programs. Districts across the state continue to struggle to meet student needs while complying with increasing mandates and rising costs. Expanding allowable uses of levy funds to pay school directors goes the wrong direction, making funding even tighter without addressing inadequate state funding — it shifts responsibility and deepens inequities between communities. With this, students lose.
Washington’s Legislature should oppose SB 5860 as written and refocus on fully funding public education statewide. Our students deserve solutions that prioritize classrooms over governance pay and equity over local capacity. We will continue to volunteer in this role and dedicate time and resources to the students, staff and communities we deeply care about.
Kelsi Hamilton and J. Vander stoep of the Chehalis School Board
Deb Parnham and Tim Browning of the Centralia School Board
Eryn Hegseth of the Adna School Board
Sabra Noyes of the Oakville School Board
Megan Iverson and Tanya Naillon of the Onalaska School Board
Tess Johnson of the Mossyrock School Board
