Jamestown Public School

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said he was very pleased with the results, “It was a resounding yes from our community on all counts from the budget to all the propositions to the Capital project, which is something that’s very good to see. It means our community has stepped up and said ‘this is what we want to happen.'”

Jamestown Public School district voters also chose Nina Karbacka and Frank Galeazzo to serve on the Jamestown Board of Education. Karbacka, who was re-elected to a third term on the board, says she was delighted, “I am delighted to continue to work for the Jamestown children. And I am delighted with the overwhelming response to our budget. We have a great budget, a great capital project coming up, and I’m glad to see the community support.”

Galeazzo thanked Gina Sink and Krysta Rives for running for the board and thanked those who came out to vote as well, “As far as what’s next, we’ll get to work once I get sworn in on the Board and start to do whatever support I can do to give to the school district and the kids of the school district to ensure they get the best education possible. And Jamestown has been doing that for quite awhile, so I hope to continue that with everyone else.” Galeazzo replaces Board Member Dan Johnson, who decided not to run for another term.

The Board of Education reorganization meeting is July 1st.

The candidates running are Frank Galeazzo, Nina Karbacka, Krysta Rives, and Gina Sink.

Frank Galeazzo cited his 20-plus years of experience in leadership and advocating for education for why he is running. He said his top priorities include giving students the best education that can be delivered and keeping finances under control, “Finding the funding, finding the finance management in a declining population where thankfully the school district has been able to do that for the past eleven years with no tax increase.”

Nina Karbacka, a retired music educator who has served for 6 years on the school board, said there are a lot of opportunities for the district to learn and grow after going through the COVID-19 Pandemic experience. She said a challenge will be engaging students as they return to the classroom, “And we have been working in that direction by hiring psychologists and social workers and literacy experts and community navigators to help to draw our students back in. I think we really want to see our students engaged in our school system.”

Krysta Rives, who is earning a doctorate in education, said she is running because she understands the challenges of under-represented learners. She said the district needs more diversity, “We have 37% of our students identifying as non-white and we don’t reflect that on our board, we don’t reflect that in the classrooms that they walk into every day. There is no representation.”

Gina Sink, who has 12 years of teaching experience, said one of the biggest opportunities for the district are the capital projects happening, “The increase in technology and replacing, maintaining the infrastructure, changing the classroom layouts, and things like that that will all contribute to the learning and things of the students as well as the possibility of the hybrid model continuing.”

The public will vote Tuesday, May 18th on the candidates for the board as well as the school budget and capital improvement plan.

Jamestown Public Schools

The district’s $86 million Capital Improvement Project will see a state reimbursement rate of 98%, meaning the local coast would be about $1.7 million. But because voters approved a capital project reserve fund a few years ago, there is enough money in the fund to cover that local cost without the need to increase taxes.

Resident Doug Champ spoke up at the public hearing, questioning the amount of money being spent to renovate the 1935 structure that houses Jamestown High School, saying the district should be looking toward the future, “You could build a new high school at a $300 per square foot cost, and I don’t care what number you plug into it, for about $50 million give or take. You have the property at Jefferson, you have the stadium at Jefferson. The school in Jamestown, the location of that school, is eroded by the neighborhood that surrounds it.”

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker responded, saying the way funding works in New York State for districts does not favor the construction of new buildings. He says it does favor renovations to existing structures, “One of the things we have to make sure that we balance though is if we were to go in direction of new construction there’s a danger that we have a much higher local burden than we would otherwise if we renovate, expand, make an addition if necessary, so that’s one of the things.”

The vote on the 2021-22 School Budget, Capital Improvement Project, and School Board elections will be held on Tuesday, May 18th from 12 to 9pm at Jefferson Middle School, Lincoln Elementary, and Washington Middle School.

Jamestown Public School’s presentation on the Capital Improvement Project can be viewed here.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley discussed the 2021-22 Jamestown School Budget that’s up for a vote on May 18th with School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker

Kevin Whitaker

The Jamestown High School P-T-S-A will hold a “Meet The Candidates Night” at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 13th in the Board of Education Room in the JPS Administration Building. It’ll be livestreamed at jpsny.org/election.

Community members who would like to attend the forum in person need to reserve a space by calling 483-4420 by noon on May 13th. Questions for the candidates can also be emailed to jaunita.m.walter@jpsny.org no later than May 12th.

The 2021-22 Budget Vote, Capital Improvement Project votes and Board of Education election will be held on Tuesday, May 18 from noon to 9 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School, and Washington Middle School.

District Director of Budgets and Finance Brittnay Spry said New York State Aid will account for $70,104,000 of the budget with monies from the Federal government being reclassified,

“We will now be seeing the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act Funds and the American Rescue Plan Act Funds flow through the special aid fund rather through the general aid fund as we had originally anticipated for that to go through there.”

Dr. Kevin Whitaker said this budget represents a focus on kids,

“Both in program and in support for mental health and some of the struggles that all of our students will face when they return to school, whether that’s in the Spring and certainly in the Fall. I’m just grateful that the board has committed so much time to this in terms of the Budget Finance committee, so many questions along the way, and we’ve come to a place where we’re all in agreement with moving forward at this moment.”

School Board President Paul Abbott said this was the most complex budget the board has dealt with and that prior to the influx of state and federal aid, things had looked very dire,

“We were all laboring over that and then the view has improved a little bit, but I know still a lot of work went into it and I know a lot of discussion went into it. So I want to thank everyone for their efforts in putting this budget together and I’m encouraged by it. I like that it has plans for the future and we are looking beyond just the 2021-22 budget.”

The budget includes the new position of a community navigator, which Whitaker says will help provide a connection between the district and Latino population as it relates to the technical aspects of schooling,

“How many credits do I need? What programs should I be making sure my child gets in? What are the testing requirements? Are there any issues with my student? How do I resolve whatever it is? And now they have a person, or they will have a person, who has some credibility within the community, some trust within the community, and is a native Spanish speaker.”

Other highlights of the proposed budget include 2 new school psychologists, an increase in contracted social workers, a reading and literacy coordinator, music equipment, music travel, athletic equipment and uniforms, and technology equipment.

A public hearing on the budget will be held on May 11th at Persell Middle School. The School Budget and Capital Improvement Project Vote and School Board elections will be held on Tuesday, May 18th.

School Superintendent Kevin Whitaker this week presented a preliminary look at the proposed Capital Improvement Project, which he describes as a work-in-progress, but one that will be finalized by March 30, when the school board is scheduled to vote on. If approved by the board, it would go to the public for a vote on May 18.

The Capital Improvement Project tentatively focuses on Jamestown High School, Persell Middle School, Fletcher Elementary School, Ring Elementary School, and the Tech Academy. It would also make improvements to the district Bus Garage along with District-wide IT updates.

There are three goals for the proposed Project: modernizing instructional spaces, improving safety and security, and maintaining our investment in our school buildings.

Whitaker said that although the total cost of the project would be an estimated $86 million, the district will see a state reimbursement rate of 98%, meaning the local coast would be about $1.7 million. But because voters approved a capital project reserve fund a few years ago, there is enough money in the fund to cover that local cost without the need to increase taxes.

“Our overall goal is to keep our kids warm, safe, and dry,” said Dr. Whitaker. “It is important for the public to note that we can only use capital project funds for capital projects, we cannot use it for instruction or operations. Like your home, we must do continued maintenance such as replacing roofs and updating heating and cooling, along with updating infrastructure including Wi-Fi, in order for our district to run smoothly and provide an exceptional learning environment for our students now, and into the future. Utilizing capital funds from the state allows us to do these things with no impact to local taxes.”

More details on the project will be finalized in the coming weeks, prior to the March 30 school board vote.