Doing The Right Thing (Finally, and Closer to Home)

Pastel, facing calls to resign, looks to move ICSD forward
By Topher Sanders
Journal Staff

The day after the Ithaca City School District Board of Education unanimously voted to withdraw a controversial challenge of New York's human rights law, Superintendent Judith Pastel apologized for her part in the challenge.

The challenge was brought to an end Tuesday; the board initially supported the move with a 5-3 vote and one abstention on Sept. 25. The district's attorney contacted the Third Department of New York's Appellate Division on Wednesday to inform the court of their intention to withdraw the challenge.

Changes of heart

Before casting their votes to end the challenge, every board member shared words with the public Tuesday about the current state of the district and the reason for their change of heart.

The overriding theme in board members' comments was healing and moving forward, while telling the public that the board heard their messages.

“Every vote I have ever taken, I have taken because I sincerely believed that what I was doing, what I was voting for, was in the best interest of children in the district,” board member Deborah O'Connor said during the meeting. “I voted for the appeal initially because I truly believed it was in the best interest of our children. I never, ever intended to deprive our families and children of recourse to discrimination.

“Since then I have learned some new information, since then many things have happened in our community and when it comes time to vote, I am going change my vote,” O'Connor said to applause from the crowd. “I'm willing to listen, and when I am wrong, I'm willing to change my vote.”

O'Connor's sentiments were echoed by the other board members.

for the complete article in The Ithaca Journal click on title of this post.