Opinion Submission to Ithaca Times: Why I'm Voting NO on the ICSD Budget: the Need for a Climate-Appropriate Budget and Why We Need to Talk About The 3 Elephants in the Room (936 words)
Dear Members of the ICSD School Board: I expect to attend and comment at the ICSD Budget Hearing meeting tomorrow evening, and want you to have my thoughts about why I oppose the budget ahead of time. I will also name and speak of the three elephants in the room: the urgent need for Carbon mitigation and sustainability and social justice education, the equally urgent and important need for methane mitigation and plant-based nutrition education, and Cornell's ongoing underpayment of taxes and the impact that has on the lack of affordable housing for working families, child poverty, the trauma eviction causes children, and child homelessness. First Elephant: ICSD needs a CARBON-NEUTRAL PLAN and needs to integrate SUSTAINABILITY and SOCIAL JUSTICE into all aspects of classes and school culture. Given there is less than 1.5 years to meet the Paris Accord Agreement, that we are nearing 1.5 degree Celsius, that 1.9 degrees Celsius is not going to be that much different than 2.0, that scientists predict 2.0 will leave our children with an unlivable planet by 2050, and that we need a new mindset to solve problems stemming from the old paradigm, I vote NO on any budget that lacks a Carbon-neutral plan in the budget. In short, I propose we shorten the 5-day school week by at least one day to divert money that would otherwise be spent on salaries ($11,000,000+) and water/sewer, electricity, and transportation fuel, to finance and promptly begin to install solar panels, efficient lighting, ground or air-source heating systems, and zero-emission buses. All ICSD staff (including administration) would necessarily take a 1/5 pay reduction in order to finance our transition to carbon-neutral schools. This is not just for the common good, but for *all* ICSD long-term job security. I further propose that the mayor and superintendent declare a state of emergency for our city, county, and state and call on the governor to ensure state funding will not be interrupted due to lack of student attendance. Students staying home would have online reading assignments on the topics of climate science, sustainability, plant-based nutrition, and engage in moderated online discussions on race relations. Moderation would be done by scholars and community leaders who would take live questions by Tweet, such as the one held at the Brooklyn Historical Society in response to Ferguson (CSPAN, 2014). In addition, students could also opt to spend the day shadowing adults who work in sustainability and report back to their school or class via podcast or Youtube channel. Food security for students who do not have enough to eat at home shall be addressed. Lastly, when back in school, the learning that happened on the day off would be documented and connected to all subjects. In addition to carbon-neutral and energy conservation planning, I recommend we not buy the proposed 8 full-size gasoline buses ($500k each). Rather, let us lessen the demand on the ones we have and/or buy 5 zero-emission buses ($800k). I also recommend we begin to replace all ICSD fountains with Elkay wall-mounted fountains ($961 each), which filter out lead and other harmful contaminants. It would be even more climate-friendly if we could find a filter fountain without refrigeration. The second elephant in the room is METHANE MITIGATION. With or without NYS, ICSD should promote and embrace Meatless Mondays to educate ICSD staff, students, and families (K-12) about the health and environmental benefits of eating less animal products. ICSD should offer plant-based nutrition education to counter the racial and ethnic bias in the US Dietary Guidelines and educate about how racism, racial bias, and government policies resulted in cultural destruction and the loss of community-specific food production methods. They should also educate how the US Dietary Guideline programs promote excess chronic disease in minority communities and perpetuate poverty. Finally, ICSD should educate ICSD how to ameliorate the negative impact of federal guidelines and food support programs on the health of minority communities. To not do this is to be complicit with animal agriculture industry and pharmaceutical greed. The third elephant in the room is CORNELL'S UNDERPAYMENT OF TAXES and "voluntary contribution." Many towns complain that universities and big businesses like Amazon contribute to gentrification, loss of affordable housing, poverty, and homelessness due to evictions for non-payment of rent. See Seattle/Amazon clash (Slate, May 2018). The Green Street Parking Garage Project may be our last strong-hold on this topic. While most of the wealth in Ithaca is held by white academics and white real estate developers, our poverty rate is the third highest in the state, and that is not acceptable. The working poor have been forced to move 30-45 minutes away, making their children (*our* ICSD children) more vulnerable to the rise in gas prices and food insecurity in many areas. We need a formula that is transparent and correlates Cornell wealth with our poverty rate and a formula that itemizes the City services that Cornell staff and students have on our roads, water/sewer, and fire/police, plus the accelerated deterioration of infrastructure. Cornell's voluntary contribution of $6.2 million per year is considered very low compared to other universities, and is inadequate. Given our lack of affordable housing and that we have the third highest poverty rate in New York State, this is not acceptable. In conclusion, like the air we breathe, sustainability, equity, and social justice need to be woven into every school and City decision. Please see links below for background info, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Sincerely, Sandy Wold Ithaca, NY 14850 ICSD Budget Hearing: Monday, May 7, 2018 at 6:00 PM in the District Office Board Room at 400 Lake Street. If you cannot make it, there is a tele-Town Hall meeting that same night at 7pm. http://www.ithacacityschools.org/districtpage.cfm?pageid=214 https://datausa.io/profile/geo/ithaca-ny/ http://www.ihstattler.com/static/february2008/view.php?a=_nC ornellContributions http://www.ithaca.com/news/cornell-compared-ithaca-mayor-cal ls-out-his-alma-mater-on/article_e8e56ab4-93e9-11e3-90ed-0019bb2963f4.html https://shadowproof.com/2018/05/02/labor-progressive-organiz ations-seattle-ramp-pressure-amazon-fund-affordable-housing/ http://www.restroomdirect.com/elkay-water-cooler-LZS8WSLK.aspx?gclid= Cj0KCQjw5fDWBRDaARIsAA5uWTjmFLnRoiUjBIi_wF_lN9EKQZh_ 1C0GuJilDgUxlFvkaHfu4t8sqL8aAuiCEALw_wcB http://www.restroomdirect.com/pdf/Elkay/Elkay%20LZS8WSLK,%20LZS8WSSK,%20LZSDWSLK,%20LZSDWSSK%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf *---**CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION YOU CAN TAKE: Divesting from animal agriculture by switching to a plant-based diet can help our planet transform. A vegan diet is heart-healthy, non-violent, anti-colonial, and sustainable! **Pledge the **Ithaca * *10 or 30-day (Plant-based) Vegan Challenge!**www.facebook.com/groups/IthacaVeganChallenge/ <https://www.facebook.com/groups/IthacaVeganChallenge/>* Instagram* #VeganPlanet2020* *---**Sandy Wold, **sustainability educator/artist* B.S. Chemistry/Biochemistry, University of Florida M.S. Science Education​, UC Santa Cruz/SUNY Cortland https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-wold-877114a7/ https://sandy-wold.squarespace.com/ -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
