In contrast to the April 16 board meeting, which many members of the public attended to express their concerns about the school budget, at the Tuesday, April 30 meeting, several teachers in the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) and other members of the public showed their support for the newly adopted 2024-25 budget. 

The budget, which reduces the tax levy by $4 million from the initial proposed 2024-25 budget and requires a supermajority vote of at least 60% to pass, awaits voter approval on May 21. As the date approaches, contention rises throughout the school district and the Ithaca community. 

In a press release sent to the Ithaca Times on April 17, the Ithaca Teachers Association (ITA) encouraged the public to vote yes on the new budget. They noted the importance of balancing the quality of education within the schools with the financial burden that a higher tax levy can have on residents and said that “the negative effects of a defeated budget would have dire consequences for our students and educational programs.”

It is unclear whether the district will face any teacher cuts as a result of the new budget, which has a $2 million reduction to the total cost. The school board has not clarified the ramifications of the reduction. 

Superintendent Luvelle Brown, Chief Operations Officer Amanda Verba and all ICSD board members did not respond to a request for comment from the Ithaca Times on the cuts that the school district may be facing as a result of budget reductions. 

*Note: At the time this story was published, no board members had responded. On Friday, May 3, Board Member Jill Tripp said that the board has not yet received specific proposed cuts. 

Aurora Rojer, a Social Studies teacher at Lehman Alternative Community School (LACS) and the secretary of the Ithaca Teachers Association, referenced the last meeting’s reduction of the budget saying that she shared many of the same concerns that residents had expressed on April 16.

“Residents shared concerns that they, or those they love, would soon be priced out of the community that they call home,” Rojer said. “As a taxpayer myself, I felt that pain and fear, and I was relieved when the board listened and decided to find places, that don’t directly face students, to trim.”

Rojer continued to say that although she shared those concerns, she thinks that it is crucial that this budget passes. 

“Running high quality schools isn’t cheap,” Rojer said. “We are experiencing a crisis in teacher morale, leading to high turnover and understaffing. We have a massive shortage of substitutes. [...] This budget must pass if we want to give our students the schools they deserve. But the anger expressed at the last meeting is not to be discounted, we just need to shift its focus from Lake Street to Albany and East Hill.”

Meg Hulbert, a librarian at Northeast Elementary School, shared that she is afraid of the ramifications of the budget being voted down, specifically with the cuts to salaries or positions that may occur if the budget continues to be reduced. 

“The real cost won’t be a few extra markers, an electric school bus or books,” Hulbert said. “The cost will be your experienced educators, because besides the inevitable cuts to staffing that will come from a lower budget, many [staff] can’t afford to stay anymore without the wage increase this budget plans for.”

Hulbert shared that in addition to her position as the librarian at Northeast, she also works two part-time jobs to get by. She said that she has seen several teachers over the past few years leave ICSD for neighboring districts that pay a more liveable salary. 

“I am placed in a position now where I have the heartbreaking choice of a job and a community that I love dearly, and paired with an endless day of side hustles, or choosing a life and a family,” Hulbert said. “If teachers can’t get raises to compete with inflation or our neighboring districts the experience and expertise will walk out the door.”

Kathryn Cernera, Ithaca Teachers Association President and a former seventh grade English teacher at DeWitt Middle School of 20 years shared many of the same viewpoints that Rojer expressed. She said that it is clear that the Ithaca community wants the best education for their students, but that this is an expensive task. 

“Regardless of the dollar amount attached to this budget, one thing is clear,” Cernera said. “The entire Ithaca community wants the same thing: high-quality schools that do an exceptional job of educating our incredibly diverse student population.”

The funding model for the Ithaca City School District relies heavily on taxpayers, with over 70% of the total budget being funded by property taxes or the tax levy. Many have expressed that they believe this is a broken and unfair system, including Rojer. 

Rojer said that it is unfair that Cornell University’s wealth is taken into account when the state determines how much aid ICSD receives because of Cornell’s tax-exempt status. 

“School funding in this state is systematically unfair,” Rojer said. “[The state] determines how much aid we get based on the wealth in the community, not factoring in the tax-exempt status. In fact, over 40% of the property in our district is owned by Cornell and is not taxable.”

The ITA's statement said that they encourage Cornell to pay more than their current contribution to the ICSD. 

“In the past year, members of the Ithaca Teachers Association have engaged in public conversation about the role other tax-exempt entities play in sharing Ithaca’s tax burden,” the statement said. “We have publicly encouraged Cornell University to contribute a more fair share to the community by engaging in the Make Cornell Pay campaign.”

Last year, Cornell University increased its voluntary contribution to the ICSD by 30%, or $150,000 per year, from $500,000 to $650,000. Many say this isn't enough to fund Ithaca’s public schools properly. 

“We should not be penalized at the state level for Cornell and the other tax-exempt properties that don’t pay their fair share,” Rojer said. “But is it right that the largest employer and wealthiest institution in the district pays next to nothing for our schools? We know in ICSD that we educate the children of Cornell employees. If Cornell were to pay taxes, it would owe our district over 46 million dollars.”

The ITA encouraged voters to take these factors into consideration when they vote on the budget. 

“While considering your vote on May 21st, it is important to remember that the school budget voting system is, and should be, part of a larger conversation about the systemic inequity of funding schools through the property taxes of single-family homeowners while not taxing owners of apartment complexes at the same rates,” the ITA statement said. 

There will be a public budget hearing on Tuesday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m. in IHS’s York Hall. The 2024 budget vote and school board election will take place on Tuesday, May 21, from noon to 9 p.m. The voter registration deadline is May 7.