State Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-Vashon, introduced Senate Bill 6223 on Friday, Jan. 12 in Olympia, to allow school boards to increase pay for board members.

Chris Reykdal, state superintendent of Public Instruction, requested the bill to establish levels of compensation for locally elected school board directors that more appropriately reflect their level of responsibility, according to a Jan. 12 news release from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

Locally elected school board directors are accountable for the operations of their school district – from approving the budget to adopting the curriculum, to setting the vision and strategic goals for the district, to hiring and evaluating the district superintendent, according to the news release.

State law, which has not been updated since 1987, does not allow school board directors to earn more than $50 per day and $4,800 per year. Adjusted for inflation, those amounts from 1987 today would be $138 per day and $13,240 per year, a difference of 176%, according to the news release.

Without financial resources to be able to take time off work, afford child care, and/or access transportation to attend the monthly meetings, and with little to no compensation associated with the position, many interested and qualified community members are likely not pursuing the opportunity to become a school board director, according to the news release.

In a recent study and survey by the Washington State Department of Commerce, just 13% of school board directors reported earning an annual household income of less than $60,000, despite nearly half of Washington’s students identifying as low-income. Further, researchers found that just 10% of Washington’s school board directors identified as directors of color, despite students of color comprising 50% of the statewide student population.

Nguyen introduced SB 6223 to address these imbalances. If passed, the bill would establish a new compensation model for school board directors that more appropriately reflects the level of responsibility associated with the position, Nguyen said.

“Each year, our students, families, educators, and school staff become increasingly more diverse,” Nguyen said. “Those who govern our schools, though, are often not reflective of the communities they serve. We have a chance to remove a significant financial barrier to this critical role, opening up the opportunity to serve to many more interested community members.”

The compensation model proposed in the legislation allows for school board directors to receive a maximum amount of $500 per month plus 50 cents per student enrolled in the district. School boards would have the ability to adopt a compensation model that is lower than the maximum allowed if they choose.

In an interview on Tuesday, Superintendent Slade McSheehy said that Vashon’s school board has never accepted compensation, though it provided for in a state statute. He said he had provided the current board with a link to Nguyen’s legislation, and expected it will be discussed when the board receives a legislative update at its Jan. 25 meeting.

— Reporter Elizabeth Shepherd contributed Vashon-specific reporting to this story.