Ithaca board adopts $169 million budget, approves TST BOCES share

The Ithaca City School District Board of Education voted Wednesday, April 22, 2025, to adopt a $169,031,619 budget for the 2025–26 school year and to approve the district’s portion of the Tompkins Seneca Tioga (TST) Board of Cooperative Educational Services tentative administrative budget of $6,268,624.

The vote follows months of committee work and a February presentation on the BOCES portion. Board members and district staff said the package keeps the district within the state property-tax cap while maintaining staff, communications, professional development and summer enrichment programs that district leaders said support their goals of equity and excellence.

Board member Adam moved adoption of the district budget and Jill seconded; the board chair called the question and announced the motion passed. Earlier in the meeting Jill moved and Emily seconded approval of the TST BOCES tentative administrative budget; the chair again called the question and announced the motion passed. The board also voted to adopt the property tax report card that accompanies the annual budget and must be distributed to local media as required by law.

Dr. Brown, a district administrator, described the budget as aligned with district goals. “This budget does support those goals still,” Dr. Brown said, citing a focus on “excellence and equity” and on maintaining co‑curricular offerings and small class sizes. Asked about support programs that were reduced last year, Dr. Brown said some offerings have “evolved” rather than disappeared and pointed to expanded summer enrichment as an example, adding, “we have enough money to do it all.”

Two absent board members provided statements read into the record. Board member Aaron Croyle wrote that he supports adoption of the 2025–26 budget. Board member Dr. Garrett Blaylock said the finance committee, full board, district administration and bargaining units had carefully considered the proposal and that it “reflects an appropriate balance of our community needs.”

The board’s BOCES-related materials note a 1.95% increase in the TST administrative budget from the prior year. The resolution text also references Education Law §1950 procedures for providing tentative BOCES budgets to component districts; the BOCES final administrative budget is to be adopted by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services on or before May 15, 2025, according to the resolution read at the meeting.

After completing the public agenda, the board moved into executive session for discussions related to collective negotiations pursuant to Article 14 of the Civil Service Law and personnel matters. The meeting record states there were no further public agenda items.