On Tuesday, May 21, ICSD voters approved three ballot propositions and elected the new Board of Education members, who will begin their terms on July 1. The propositions approved were the 2019-20 district budget, the appropriation and expenditure of reserve funds, and the 2019 Capital Project. Two official candidates (Robert Ainslie and Eldred Harris) and one write-in candidate (Erin Croyle) were elected to the Board of Education.
Proposition 3, the 2019 Capital Project, was passed with 2,393 “yes” votes to 554 “no” votes. The proposition “will support the 2019 Capital Project, a district-wide, long-term facilities plan designed to enhance safety and security, upgrade teaching and learning spaces, and improve infrastructure at all ICSD schools.” At IHS, Phase I, which will begin in 2020, includes the reconfiguring of York Lecture Hall into a multi-part learning space, and the issuing of swipe cards to teachers for entry into school buildings; students will not be issued these cards. The doors between buildings will be locked during class periods and will open automatically between periods. The bond will not increase local tax rates, but will instead be funded by a debt-retirement program, in which the district will only incur new debt as it pays off old debt; debt payments are already allocated in the budget.
Also included within the budget are cuts to funding for instructional salaries for teachers of grades 7-12. Funding for administrator salaries, however, is increasing. Specifically, there is a 6.93% increase in funding for the salaries of principals, directors, and other administrators, likely due to the increased number of these positions. More administrators means more money being diverted to their salaries. Meanwhile, funding for training salaries will decrease by 17.67 percent, and funding for teacher salaries for grades 7-12 will decrease 0.27 percent. Funding for non-instructional salaries for special educators, teacher librarians, and computer-assisted instructors will decrease as well. Teachers are not going to be paid less, rather, these cuts reflect a smaller staff due to the district’s high teacher turnover rate. Employee retirement, teacher retirement, and workers’ compensation funds are also experiencing cuts. The budget does not increase tax rates, but there is an estimated 3.02 percent increase in the tax levy.
Effects of this vote will begin to go into effect soon. New BoE members will assume office on July 1, the new budget will affect the coming school year, and the physical infrastructure of IHS (and other district schools) will start to change beginning in 2020.