Archive: News

After a contentious month, the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) Board passed its $100,779,392.00 2010-2011 school budget on April 20.  Based on New York State’s Education Law, this amount comes in below the 4% spending increase defined as a “contingency budget.”  On May 18, Ithacans will vote yes or no on this budget.

Meanwhile, the April 27 meeting of the ICSD Board seemed very peaceful.

“It’s kinda quiet tonight,” someone remarked as Superintendant Judith Pastel entered the Board Room.  “I hope so,” she responded.  “We could use some quiet, actually.”


Superintendent Search

As teachers prepare for budget cuts, and voters get ready to vote for new Board members, this quiet moment won’t last.  Furthermore, Judith Pastel is retiring, so the Board must choose a new Superintendent of Schools.  Alan Lambert, who has served on the School Board, presented a request that the Board commit, by a resolution and vote, to a fully open, fully transparent, fully honest and competitive search for a new Superintendent.  “The rumors about other kinds of processes are to be rejected,” he said.

Teacher Preparation

Susan Mittler, President of the Ithaca Teachers Association, reported that teachers were already bracing for budget cuts.  “We’re educating teachers about the reductions,” she said, adding that, in the face of staff and budget cuts, “they haven’t slacked off one bit.”   She requested that the Board and administration let teachers know their class assignments by the end of this school year, “so they can spend the summer making sure they will be able to meet all the goals of the board” in the 2010-2011 school year.

Grant Money for Chinese Language

In these tough financial times, Spanish and Chinese teacher Claudia Miettunen has actively sought and received outside funding for Chinese Exchange Teacher Liang Sun. Thanks to Miettunen, Ithaca was one of 15 schools chosen by the federal government’s Teachers of Critical Languages program to receive a teacher.  Liang, who teaches English in Mianyang China, taught Elementary Chinese at Ithaca High School (IHS).   Miettunen also found grant money so that IHS students can travel to New York City’s Chinatown to learn more about Chinese culture.

In addition to teaching at the high school, Liang taught middle and elementary students about China.  “I explained the national flag, how we greet one another in China, how to count, and some calligraphy,” Liang explained, adding that “I achieved my goal to learn more about the U.S while teaching about my country.”

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