On Tuesday, May 21, voters in ICSD will have the opportunity to vote on the 2019-2020 Budget, the 2019 Capital Project, and the candidates running for the Board of Education (BoE). Although local elections often have lower voter turnout than federal ones, ICSD elections like this one have special significance for IHS students: for many seniors, this is the first election for which they are eligible to vote; for underclassmen, this election will influence the education they receive in their remaining years at IHS.
On the ballot will be the BoE’s proposed budget for the 2019-2020 school year. Listed as “Proposition 1,” here voters will have the chance to vote yes or no on the BoE’s proposed budget for the upcoming school year. For taxpayers, this will dictate property taxes for the coming year, and for students, this will determine how much money goes towards funding various parts of their education.
The next measure on the ballot, “Proposition 2,” will authorize withdrawal of money from the district’s Capital Reserve Fund to support minor infrastructure improvements at several elementary schools, as well as the purchase of eight new buses.
The next part of the ballot, listed as “Proposition 3,” will be a vote on ICSD’s “Capital Project,” a $120 million infrastructure plan. The plan, if passed, would fund the project in phases over the next twelve years, and would remain tax neutral by taking aid from the state and taking on new debt. The ambitious plan would include security upgrades at every ICSD school, as well as larger infrastructure projects such as upgrades to parking lots, playgrounds, and bathrooms.
The final part of the ballot will be the vote for members of the BoE. BoE terms are three years in length, and three of the board’s nine seats are up for election. Incumbents Robert Ainslie ‘74, Bradley Grainger, and Eldred Harris are all running for reelection.