ITHACA, N.Y. — Teachers and community members urged voters to approve next year’s school budget during an Ithaca City School District (ICSD) board meeting Tuesday night.
The proposed spending plan has drawn opposition from a vocal group of taxpayers in recent weeks, in large part due to a larger-than-typical increase in the district’s reliance on property tax dollars. Because the proposed budget exceeds the tax cap set by the state, a supermajority of voters must approve it during elections on May 21.
The recent display of support is in contrast to a school board meeting earlier in April, which saw Ithaca High School’s York Lecture Hall filled to capacity with community members who wished to air their frustrations about the budget and rising property tax bills.
During that contentious meeting, school board members ultimately opted to move forward with a slightly pared down budget proposal. The final version seeks to increase total spending next year by $10.3 million rather than by the $12.3 million originally proposed, and will use additional funds from the district’s rainy day fund to reduce taxpayers’ share of the burden by a total $4 million.
Even with the changes, the budget will still require 60% voter approval to pass. The final budget still exceeds the tax cap with its 8.3% tax levy increase.
About 20 community members showed up to Tuesday’s meeting in person — though not all were there to weigh in on the budget — with more than 40 others tuning in virtually.
Several teachers, like Ithaca Teachers Association secretary and social studies teacher Aurora Rojer, praised the reduced version but warned of the consequences of a failed budget vote.
“I was relieved that the board listened [to criticism from taxpayers] and decided to find places that don’t directly affect students to trim,” Rojer said. “But as a teacher, I know that this budget is crucial.”
If more than 40% of voters reject the budget come May 21, ICSD will have one other chance to propose an alternate budget. If both proposals fail, the district must adopt a “contingency budget” which would effectively cap next year’s spending at current levels.
District officials have warned a contingency budget could result in increased class sizes and “dozens” of staff reductions, but have not yet provided a specific number.
Ithaca High School science department head Arti Jewett said she was concerned the district had failed to adequately communicate the current staffing levels to voters.
“When it comes down to it, the voters, the taxpayers deserve clear data without a lot of nuance and qualifiers,” Jewett said. “Before they vote on a budget, they need to know what it looks like for a student in the classroom.”
The district’s current average class size is 18.9 students, per a presentation to the school board’s human resources committee last week. Jewett said that figure can be misleading: Ithaca High School, for instance, offers small academic support groups that are capped at around 8 students, but conventional academic classes — like some math and Advanced Placement science courses — may be capped at 30 students.
“Taxpayers should be aware, if the district is forced to cut instruction positions, it won’t be 18 students in a ninth grade class because it isn’t 18 students now,” Jewett said. “It’d be closer to 28 or 29 14-year-olds learning to work with chemicals and scalpels.”
ICSD is contractually obligated to provide cost of living raises for nearly all its employees. Teachers and administrators are set to receive a 4% cost of living increase next year. Some non-teaching staff, like bus drivers and cleaners, will receive a 5% raise, per union agreements.
Several speakers, like Northeast Elementary library media specialist Megan Hulburt, said she was also impacted by rising property taxes, but said voting the budget down would “hurt the wrong people.”
“I came from my other jobs of staffing after school and cleaning houses before coming here tonight,” Hulburt said. “My story is very common. […] If teachers can’t get raises to compete with inflation or neighboring districts, the experience and expertise will walk out the door.”
While ICSD’s final budget proposal does include a slight decrease in the school tax rate from $16.22 per $1000 of taxable property to $15.68, nearly all property owners will pay more in taxes anyway — this year, Tompkins County increased assessed property values by an average of 20%.
The sticker shock has prompted an outpouring of criticism and charges that the steep budget increase would price some residents out of the city. Some community members, including Ithaca Alderperson Margaret Fabrizio, are urging voters to reject the budget in May.
Ithaca Teachers Association president and English teacher Kathryn Cernera urged voters to shift their frustration from ICSD and towards Cornell and Albany.
As a tax-exempt entity, Cornell’s extensive real estate holdings are not part of the tax base that funds schools and municipalities. The university will, however, pay a yearly sum of $650,000 to the district in lieu of taxes, up from the $500,000 it has contributed in previous years.
As for Albany, changes in the recently-passed state budget mean ICSD and other districts will receive less state aid than originally expected.
“We are committed to continuing to work towards changes to school funding plans at all levels of power,” Cernera said. “But we understand that change will not come before we vote on this budget. We sincerely hope that the taxpayers can see that the school taxes are part of a larger conversation about how we pay for the communities we want to live and work in.”
View voter information here. The deadline to register for the school board election and budget vote is May 7. If you are already registered to vote in general elections, you do not need to complete a separate registration. If not, you can register at the ICSD district clerk’s office or at the Tompkins County Board of Elections from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Correction 5/5/2024 1:03 p.m.: a previous version of this story gave incorrect enrollment figures for some classes at Ithaca High School.
That version of the story also incorrectly stated voters could access sample ballots on the district’s website. There are no sample ballots available at this time.