INQUIRING
N e w s l i n e
Newsline03 BUDGET
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Council denies county library funding, approves Right to Counsel funding
By C a se y Mar tin
IF YOU COULD MAKE THE RULE, WHAT DATE SHOULD BE THE OFFICIAL START DATE OF CHRISTMAS MUSIC ON THE RADIO, STORES, AND JUKEBOXES?
“Pete – Dec 15th is enough time. James – Oh come on! November 29 should be the date.” -Pete B. & James W.
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“I grew up in the Philippines, so Christmas music started in September. BUT I think Black Friday makes more sense!” -Rose S.
n a marathon meeting on Oct. 28 that had to be extended twice (finally coming to an end at 10:45 p.m.), Ithaca’s Common Council finished up fine-tuning the details of the budget and voted to send it along for a full vote at the Nov. 3 meeting. This final meeting, in a series of budget meetings throughout the month of October, was used to go through all the requests above the mayor’s budget that had been presented to Council by differ-
ent departments, as well as add any amendments of council Members. By the end, the tax rate sat at $11.89 per thousand, which is a .34% increase, and the levy change is $26,366,541, a .95% increase. A debated topic as of late and one that has been a subject in many different meetings was the right to counsel for eviction court. Alderperson Laura Lewis introduced this amendment, with $125,000 going toward this. There was discussion about funding the
Schools “First Snow!” -Jacob S.
In search for staff, ICSD tries job fairs, boat cruises
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“December 25th.” -Evan F. & Erin J.
“December 1 sounds fair.” -Teila W.
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Ithac a Times
thaca City School District is employing more aggressive tactics to draw educators and supporting staff to Ithaca. Gladira Velazquez Simms, the district’s coordinator of recruitment and retention, met with the Board of Education at its Oct. 26 meeting to outline her efforts to attract employees to Ithaca and then keep them here. Part of her strategy for retention included time out on Cayuga Lake with Discover Cayuga’s floating classroom to allow for new educators to spend time on the water and learn about some of the resources Ithaca offers. She also /November
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organizes book discussions and other events for educators, especially educators of color, to participate in. Simms said one of the main focuses of their recruiting strategy is centering student voices. She showed clips from elementary age students and high school students talking about what they want to see from their teachers. The younger students said they appreciated qualities like kindness and generosity in their teachers, while the older ones emphasized the need for more diversity among educators. According to Simms, the district has hired 62 educators
expense out of the American Rescue Plan Act funds for 2022 as a sort-of pilot program to gather data about the need for it, however Council ultimately decided to fund it as a recurring fund. “I think it’s important and there probably is an ongoing need,” Alderperson Rob Gearhart said. “I do think it’s something we should budget for. We can spend a year figuring out how much this load is, but then we’d be in this same position next year.” for the 2021 school year, 13 of whom are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), which breaks down to 21%. Last year Simms attended eight recruitment fairs and has plans to attend seven more this school year. On Dec. 2 ICSD will hold its own recruitment event in an effort to connect with mid-year graduates, with an emphasis on educators of color. She said she’s also seeking recruitment outside of New York state to broaden the pool, however there are some challenges associated with that. Out of state educators must apply for a New York State teacher certification, and reciprocity is not automatic. If an educator has not graduated from a New York Stateapproved program, then they must go through an individual evaluation pathway. “Those are some of the roadblocks we’ve come to face,”
Tompkins County Public Library (Photo: Facebook)
A lively discussion was also had about providing $15,000 in funding to Tompkins County Public Library. The library requested that amount from both the city and town of Ithaca to fill a funding gap to have open hours on Sundays. Lewis supported the funding, saying she thought it was an important resource that continued on page 7
Simms said. “We’re trying to really build some collaboration with New York State.” Andrew McCracken, a senior at Lehman Alternative Community School, asked Simms if the same efforts are being made to hire bus drivers and other staff, as there has been a big shortage of drivers throughout the state. “I know the district is out of bus drivers because I’ve been late to my first period class every day,” he said. “Are we taking the same steps to hire people who aren’t educators exclusively? Because it’s not just teachers this district runs on, it’s bus drivers, janitors, lunchroom staff..” Simms confirmed that she had recently attended a job fair with the district’s director of transportation and said they are doing all they can to hire continued on page 7