According to the Post-Journal, all local school districts saw their budget approved by local voters except for the Clymer Central School District.

Jamestown Public Schools – the county’s largest district – saw a light turnout but the results were overwhelmingly in favor of the $90.7 million budget that included no tax increase. The spending plan was approved 367 to 70. Meanwhile, voters also approved the lease and purchase of school buses by a vote of 386 to 48.

Also for Jamestown, incumbent school board members Patrick Slagle and Joe Pawelski were both reelected to new three-year terms. They were the only candidate to appear on the ballot this year.

In Clymer the $11.5 million budget was voted down by a vote of 580 to 459. The reason for the defeat was primarily due to the school board putting forward a spending plan that included a $13.3 percent tax increase over the current year.

At the Southwestern School district residents approved a $29.2 million budget that included a 1.5 percent tax increase, while in Falconer, residents approved a $23.7 million budget that included a very slight increase in the tax levy.

Frewsburg, Bemus Point, Panama, Chautauqua Lake, and Cassadaga Valley all saw their budgets approved as well.

In Jamestown, voters will act on the $90.7 million 2019-20 spending plan that includes no tax increase. There are also two school board seats up for election, but the election will be uncontested with only two incumbents – Patrick Slagle and Joe Pawelski – appearing on the ballot.

School Superintendent Bret Apthrope told WRFA last week he is still hoping for a good turnout on Tuesday, despite a non-controversial spending plan and no contested school board race. That mostly due to the school district incorporating new partnerships and collaborations with community partners for the upcoming school year.

“This budget has in it some unique and first time mechanisms of bringing resources to kids,” Apthorpe said. “We have in this budget lots of partnerships with youth agencies that support kids. We’re going down this road because we realize the supports that our kids need today are just, financially, not something that schools can do on their own.”

• LISTEN TO FULL INTERVIEW WITH DR. APTHORPE

The main program where much of the collaborations will take hold is in the newly created Success Academy, which will open in September at the former Rogers School and assist approximately 75 students who are in need of additional and/or alternative help in order to improve their school performance.

In addition to the budget vote and school board election, Apthorpe said there are also propositions for bus purchases.

The school election and budget vote in Jamestown will run from noon to 9 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School and Washington Middle School for registered voters.

For more information on the budget, visit the budget page of the school’s website.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, May 16, 2019

Jamestown Public Schools superintendent Bret Apthorpe shares details on the proposed 2019-20 JPS School Budget prior to the May 21 public vote. Plus he provides an update on the search for a new high school principal.

Dr. Bret Apthorpe, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent

According to school clerk Nita Walter, only Patrick Slagle and Joe Pawelski have submitted petitions to run for the school board’s two seats that are up for a vote next week. Both already serve on the school board, with Slagle currently serving as the vice president.

In addition to choosing the school board members, voters will also vote on the proposed 2019-2020 school budget – which exceeds $90 million but does not include a property tax increase.  It is available to the public at the budget page on the school district website.

The $90.7 million Proposed Budget – which includes no tax increase – is available to the public at the budget page on the school district website. Hard copies of the proposed budget are also available for the public’s review in the Superintendent’s Office at 197 Martin Road, in each Jamestown school’s main office and at the James Prendergast Library.

• RELATED: JAMESTOWN SCHOOL BOARD UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES 2019-20 SCHOOL BUDGET

The 2019-20 JPS Budget Vote & School Board Elections will be held on Tuesday, May 21 from noon to 9 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School and Washington Middle School for registered voters. Voters will also elect two Board of Education members, each to serve three-year terms beginning on July 1.

If you need to register to vote for the Budget and School Board Elections on May 21, you may do so, in person, with the JPS District Clerk Jaunita Walter at 197 Martin Road, Jamestown, NY through 5 p.m. on May 7.

If you have any questions about voter registration or where you vote, please contact Mrs. Walter at 483-4420.

Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe and Finance Director Lisa Almasi  present budget information during the April 16, 2019 School Board meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown School Board Tuesday night unanimously approved a $90.7 million spending plan for next year that includes no tax increase.

The board reviewed the revised budget proposal presented by both school superintendent Bret Apthorpe and school Finance Director Lisa Almasi, who had to update their original budget numbers from last month after the final state aid runs were provided at the start of this month.

“I think of this budget as a community budget because it keeps us focused on addressing some of the big challenges we have as a school, but – going back to one of the budget goals of this board – being creative on how we find the resources to pull it off,” Apthorpe said during the presentation.

The district will see an 3.5 percent increase in foundation aid from the state compared to the current school year, although officials about a $1.7 million increase. Officials had hoped for at least a 4 percent increase, adding that ideally – the state should have given the district $6 million in aid if it actually properly followed the state aid formula.

Despite the district not receiving as much state aid as officials had wanted, Almasi said the district will still be able to move forward without any significant changes.

“We have no layoffs. We currently have an unfilled position that is eliminated from [this year’s] budget. We are reducing four FTEs due to retirement and we’re going to continue to look at the positions as they resign or retire and see if we need to replace all these positions,” Almasi noted.

To help balance the budget the district looked toward making minor “right-sizing” adjustments to overall class sizes while also utilizing money from its fund balance. Apthorpe said the district has also been able to maintain and even add additional programs due to support from outside the school system.

Jamestown school board members Shelly Leathers and Patrick Slagle along with board president Paul Abbott during the April 16, 2019 budget vote.

“We’re able to do this because of the great partners we’ve been able to create in the community. Community agencies and services who have the skills, the leadership, and the common commitment to partner with us so we can do the things that we need to do,” Apthorpe said.

Among the new initiatives that will be added next year is the Success Academy, which will be at the former Rogers schools and will work on assisting up to 75 students from the High School and Middle Schools who are in need of alternative, individualized education effort to improve their performance.

Prior to the vote, school board president Paul Abbott gave his support to the spending plan.

“I’m excited about it. I think there are a lot of good things in it. The success of what we’re able to present with a zero percent tax increase is due in large part to the partnerships that we established in the community, but also due to how fiscally responsible we’ve been over the years,” Abbott said.

The school budget hearing will take place on May 7 and the budget will go up for a public vote on May 21.

The Jamestown School Board and administrative staff during the March 26 budget work session, when board members got their first detailed look at the $89.7 million spending plan for the 2019-20 school year.

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown school officials will finalize the 2019-20 school budget when they meet Tuesday for a regularly scheduled school board meeting.

Officials started preliminary discussion and review of the nearly $90 million budget last month, but needed to wait until the final state aid totals were known before they could finalize a spending plan.

The state budget was approved on April 1 and under that spending plan it was announced that Jamestown will get a 5.57 percent increase in total state aid for next year. When building aid is removed, it’s actually a 4.3 percent increase. But some of that 4.3 percent increase is restricted to mandated programs like BOCES and Universal Pre-Kindergarten.

When it comes to general operating aid that can be spent at the school board’s discretion – referred to as Foundation Aid in the budget – Jamestown will actually see an increase of about 3.5 percent over the current school year.  That’s higher than what was originally proposed in the governor’s executive budget released in January, but still about $250,000 lower than what school officials had said they were hoping to get.

During Tuesday’s meeting, officials will work to close the $250,000 – with options including making cuts or taping into reserve funds.

School board members have already said they remain committed to finalizing a budget that includes no increase to the tax levy.

The April 16 School Board Meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the administration building on Martin Road and is open to the public.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, March 28, 2019

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with Dr. Bret Apthorpe, superintendent of Jamestown Public Schools, about the 2019-20 State budget and the impact it will have on next year’s Jamestown School Budget. Dr. Apthorpe also provides an update on a couple of other items including the Small City Schools Lawsuit , the soon-to-be-opened Success Academy, and the search for a new principal at Jamestown High School.

Dr. Bret Apthorpe, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent

Early Sunday morning, on the final day of 2019 fiscal year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced that they had reached an agreement on the $175.5 Billion Budget.

The budget includes an additional $1 billion for education on top of what the governor proposed in January. However, the governor was able to stop the Legislature’s push to drastically grow education, which was a top priority for a new class of vocal, progressive legislators.

As a result of the $1 billion funding increase between the governor’s initial budget and the final spending plan, Jamestown Public Schools is poised to receive more money than what the governor’s office had proposed.

Under the newly passed state budget, Jamestown will get a 5.57 percent increase in total state aid for next year. When building aid is removed, it’s actually a 4.3 percent increase. But some of that 4.3 percent increase is restricted to mandated programs like BOCES and Universal Pre-Kindergarten.

The Jamestown School Board and administrative staff during the March 26 budget work session, where board members got their first detailed look at the $89.7 million spending plan for the 2019-20 school year.

When it comes to general operating aid that can be spent at the school board’s discretion – referred to as Foundation Aid in the budget – Jamestown will actually see an increase of about 3.5 percent over the current school year. That’s higher than what the governor originally proposed but it’s still about $250,000 lower than what school officials had said they were hoping to get when discussing the budget during last week’s budget work session.

School officials had estimated next year’s total school budget to come in at about $89.7 million – but that included a projected 4 percent increase in Foundation Aid from the state. The Jamestown School Board along with Superintendent Bret Apthorpe and his staff will now have to work to close a $250,000 gap. The options including making cuts, taping into reserve funds, or adjusting the tax levy – which will likely receive little to no support from the school board.

All told, Jamestown will get $50,787,782 in Foundation aid for the 2019-20 school year – about $1,000,000 more than what the governor had proposed in January. The total state aid, including building aid and other restricted funds, comes in at $72,355,152.

The next meeting of the school board to discuss and most likely finalize next year’s school budget is scheduled for April 16.

A full list of school aid figures for all districts in the county is available at the State budget website at Budget.NY.gov.

The Jamestown School Board and administrative staff during the March 26 budget work session, where board members got their first detailed look at the $89.7 million spending plan for the 2019-20 school year.

JAMESTOWN – While it appears Jamestown Public Schools won’t be getting nearly as much money as officials would like from Albany  to help with next year’s budget, they’ve still been able to put together an initial, balanced 2019-20 Budget that will include no tax increase for local property owners.

On Tuesday night the school board held a budget work session to review preliminary budget numbers for the 2019-20 school year. One challenge for Jamestown, along with others across the state, is that lawmakers in Albany have yet to finalize a state budget for the upcoming 2019-20 fiscal year, which means the district still doesn’t know exactly how much aid it will be getting.

Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe said the district’s ideal spending plan for next year would total just over $92.9 million. However, based on the school aid numbers offered in January via the Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s initial state budget proposal, the district would actually receive a net reduction in state aid of $2 million when the rate of inflation is considered. With that in mind, school officials ended up removing nearly $3.3 million from the initial plan, bringing it down to $89.7 million.

“The initial proposed budget was literally just that – it was what had everybody requested. We collected that and then shared it with our budget committee without having any scrutiny or seeing where there might be opportunities for combining services,” Apthorpe said. “The district has had a number of years before me of tough budgets and a lot of layoffs. So people put in requests, like diversity consultants to help our schools become more culturally response, and we just weren’t able to do all that.”

In addition to removing some additions for the new school year, the school budget team also worked to close the spending gap by utilizing some funding from the district’s employee retirement reserve fund. In addition, the district will also cut 10.5 Full time Equivalency (FTE) positions, although only two would involve layoffs.

“I think we have about six positions already this year that we haven’t filled, that are already in the present year’s budget. So we’re not going to fill them. We also had several that were through attrition, like retirements. So when you have retirements you can look at certain class sizes and things to see if that’s an area that needs to be replaced and we’re not replacing those in this proposed  budget,” Apthorpe said. “So in terms of physical bodies, we had two FTEs and these FTEs that we’re discussing are the positions that are furthest away from students.”

The budget also looks at past history with the state budget to make an assumption that the initial state aid for Jamestown proposed by the governor – which is $49.8 million – will likely be increased by at least 2.5 percent, or $1.25 million. As a result, that’s what the district is going with in its initial budget. But if more money comes in, the district would put it toward reserve fund to help with future equipment purchases.

“We have not had an equipment replacement plan to deal with lawn mowers, trucks, floor scrubbing machines. And so we created an equipment replacement plan,” Apthorpe said. “If we have extra funds come in, the conversation with the board will be do we bring back those two FTEs or do we use some of it to start this equipment replacement plan or do we do a combination of both? And really it’s going to depend on what that final number is.”

Apthorpe has also noted that while the district also plans to launch its Success Academy program at the former Rogers School in the fall, it won’t have any additional costs to the budget because it will involve a shifting of current staff, rather than hiring any new positions.

In its first year, the academy plans to work with about 75 students in grades 5 through 12 who are in need of more focused attention in areas of education. Those students will be identified by the district and will have the option of enrolling in the academy.

With the shifting of teaching staff that will be taking place next year, the budget also calls for “right sizing” average class sizes in various grades, with nearly all of them seeing an increase compared to the current year. The increase range from zero to three students, with grades 5-6 seeing no increase but still containing the largest average class size at 22 students. The High School would see an average class size increase by three students, bringing the new average to 21.

Meanwhile, the school board will now wait for a final state budget to be approved to know exactly how much aid it will receive. The state budget is due by this coming Monday, April 1. Once that takes place, the board will meet again on April 16 to finalize a spending plan for next year – with a public vote on the budget scheduled for May 21.