On May 19, voters elected Sara Garner, Dr. Jill Tripp, and incumbent Garrick Blalock to the ICSD Board of Education (BoE). Madeline Cardona, who was elected last year, was not re-elected. BoE president Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell, whose term also expires this June, opted not to run for another term after eighteen years of service.
Overall, this election saw less debate than last year, with only four candidates vying for three seats. Like years before, the three candidates endorsed by the Ithaca Teachers Association garnered the most votes. Candidate forums were hosted by the PTA Council and the Village at Ithaca Youth Board, with support from the Ithaca Public Education Initiative. Jaliyah Clinton ’27, Kaylie Abreu Tavarez ’28, and Malik Ali ’26 moderated the Village candidate forum, bringing student concerns such as equity, suspensions, and bathroom monitoring to the table.
At the PTA-run candidate forum, candidates celebrated a number of recent wins: a strong financial status in comparison to past years, successful contract negotiations with the Ithaca Teachers Association, and the possibility for the appointment of a new superintendent in 2029. Candidates also referenced the 2025-26 State of the District report, which shows marked improvement from last year across a number of learning metrics: the graduation rate increased by 5.5 percent, chronic absenteeism decreased by 1.7 percent, and the number of students reading at or above grade level increased by 8.1 percent. With these recent improvements, BoE candidates agreed they were mostly happy with the direction the district is moving in.
Sara Garner and Dr. Jill Tripp, the two non-incumbents, earned the most votes, 2,924 and 2,739 votes respectively. Garner is a graduate of ICSD, the director of Community Nursing School, and the mother of two ICSD students. She has experience teaching marginalized youth, implementing restorative justice practices, and developing social-emotional advisory programs. Tripp brings the perspective of both a school psychologist and a long-time union member in ICSD. Voted off of the BoE last year, she explained she’s missed serving ICSD.
Garner and Tripp, as the two most popular candidates, share many similar priorities. Both disagreed with how the Board of Education extended superintendent Dr. Luvelle Brown’s contract despite the public outrage of dozens of community members. Put simply, according to Tripp, “it is time for a change in district leadership.” Throughout her campaign, Tripp has emphasized the need for more transparency and public conversation about the performance of the district, arguing that far too many controversial agenda items are discussed in so-called executive sessions which the public can’t attend.
Garner and Tripp also both share special education as a priority for the district, advocating for current policies to be reexamined and their implementation to be audited by a third party to ensure compliance with state and federal law.
Garner, in particular, said she prioritizes expanding and improving upon ICSD’s restorative justice policies and using data-driven approaches to problem solving.
Tripp hopes to prioritize fiscal responsibility, fair compensation for all ICSD staff members and retirees, and sustainability efforts within the district. Like in her previous term on the BoE, Tripp hopes to pressure Cornell to increase its voluntary contributions to ICSD.
Garrick Blalock, economics professor at Cornell University and current BoE Vice-President and finance committee chair, received 1,946 votes. He emphasizes his experience and expertise in financial matters pertinent to ICSD. His priorities include long-term planning for the school district and its infrastructure so that ICSD can retain its financially stable status. Although he voted to extend Dr. Brown’s contract, Blalock says he looks forward to appointing a new superintendent in 2029 and says his experience with nationwide hiring searches will lend itself well to the task.
Madeline Cardona, who received 1,244 votes, shared sentiments aligned with many other candidates, but emphasized caregiver and student engagement. As a single mother of two ICSD students, she’s had a number of frustrations with ICSD and its lack of communication. This past year, she engaged with parents at PTA meetings and worked with student leaders to develop the student ex-officio member policy. In her one year on the BoE, Cardona has represented marginalized voices as the only member without a college degree and the only Latina member. At the Village candidate forum, she spoke directly to students of color, saying that she understood their struggles and encouraged them to stick up for themselves and each other. She opened up about her own educational experience, as a Spanish speaker from Puerto Rico in a school without English as a Second Language classes; “For a year and a half, I struggled with being heard and constantly fighting to not be suspended for having an attitude.” With the loss of both Dr. Bradwell and Cardona this year, the 2026-2027 BoE will have only one member of color.
Garner, Tripp, and Blalock will start their new three-year terms in July 2026.
Be First to Comment