Members of the public address Jamestown School Board (October 25, 2022)

Over 30 people attended the Jamestown School Board meeting with 13 speaking to the board with concerns about school safety and bullying.

The concerns were raised following a parent speaking at the October 11 School Board meeting about a bullying incident that was captured on video and shared on social media.

Parent Jennifer Buck, who has children at Persell and the High School, said every student should have to read and sign the district’s Code of Conduct. She also said the bullying of student is “out of control,” “My children have come home and spoke about how kids have made fun of their weight, their eyebrows, their skin condition. My daughter has been told to kill herself multiple times at Persell Middle School already this year. Have I reported these? No. Should I have? Yes, but my kids have begged me not to do so because it would make more harm than good. It makes it worse. I’m sure there is more they aren’t telling me because they know now is enough and I’m not being quiet. I just want my children, all children, to go to school, be safe, get the education they need to guide them through the rest of their lives.”

Anti-bullying signs outside the Jamestown Public Schools Administrative Building (October 25, 2022)

Parent Carla Gonzalez said the schools and students are facing challenges that require more than reactive efforts. She said parents at the meeting want protection for their children, “Specifically, with the installation of metal detectors and door sensors at all entrances of JHS. As the Board of Education, you could not expect a music class to be successful without instruments. You would not expect a math class to be as effective without calculators. You would not expect a basketball team to win without balls. Please do not expect our schools to remain secure without the proper equipment that can enhance the safety of our children.”

Tamu Graham-Reinhardt, who works for the Jamestown School District as its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, spoke up as a resident, saying that support is needed from the community, “And your frustrations are valid and I want to acknowledge them. I would also ask that if you are interested in being part of the solution, then we all should get together. I know that there was a survey that was put out and we should talk and look at problem solving. We are reviewing the Code of Conduct, so thank you for bringing that up. We are reviewing the Code of Conduct. I’m part of the committee. And anyone else, I would ask to come do that because it needs to be examined.”

Most of the speakers Tuesday night requested metal detectors be considered for school buildings.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said student safety and security has been taken very seriously over the two years he’s served as Superintendent of the district. He said that includes reinstating School Resource Officers, initiating a Threat Assessment Protocol, and hiring a Safety and Security Supervisor, “..Have been running emergency drills and crisis teams, attending workshops on the various emerging technology for detection and monitoring; developing a capital project that creates secure vestibules in all buildings – adding those to Persell and to the High School. Installing alarms for doors at the High School, making improvements and upgrades to cameras and entry credentialing, installing ten-foot fencing at the High School and bollards behind the High School to restrict vehicle traffic.”

Whitaker said the internal Safety and Security Committee will be expanded to include staff, teachers, students, parents, and community members, “We will review all of the available options for us. And we will make a recommendation. This is how the work of a community is done – effort, research, collaboration, communication, hearing different opinions and positions, and coming to a resolution that includes input from all constituent groups. That is what we want our kids to see as a model. This is how we can conquer any seemingly insurmountable issue.”

Whitaker said that the Safety and Security Committee will discuss if metal detectors are part of the solution and if the community is willing to deal with the ancillary consequences of that whether it’s the cost of the equipment, extra staff, or time involved with students going through the detection system.

He added that feedback can also be submitted anonymously to jpsny.org/feedback. He said that page also will give people the option to sign up for the Safety and Security Committee. QR codes are available at the High School for reports to be submitted anonymously as well.

In other business, the Jamestown School Board accepted bids totaling $500,155 to contract with Kinley Corporation, Mazza Mechanical Services, Inc., and Ahlstrom-Schaeffer to construct the Secure Entry Vestibule at Persell Middle School. This capital project had been approved by voters in 2021. Whitaker said that project is expected to be completed by Spring.

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Originally airing Thursday, March 1, 2018

WRFA public affairs director Jason Sample talks with Jamestown Public Schools Superintendent Bret Apthrope about school safety and security, anti-bullying initiatives, the 2018-19 school budget, and an upcoming stakeholders meeting planned for later in the month.

Dr. Bret Apthorpe, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent

JAMESTOWN – More than a dozen people addressed the Jamestown School Board on Tuesday night as the issue of bullying took center stage.

Community members were on hand to address the issue in the wake of two recent suicides in the community, one that involved a 13-year-old student and another that involved a recent graduate of Jamestown High School. Both incidents were blamed on chronic bullying.

One of those who spoke was the aunt of the 14-year-old student who recently attempted to take her own life, was hospitalized, and eventually died due to complications connected to the incident. She said it was brought on by relentless bullying both inside and outside of school.

The aunt of a Jamestown High School student who took her own life due to chronic bullying addresses the Jamestown School Board during a meeting on Oct. 10, 2017.

“I just had to bury my 14-year-old niece, that’s been more like more daughter the last 10 years,” the aunt said. “I think the school board maybe needs to do more to punish these children that are doing the bullying. I have tons of evidence that has been sent to me the past week from the kids who attacked her over social media. They had been relentless with it.”

The aunt also said that the school district needs to do more to punish those who bully other students in order to prevent other incidents from taking place.

“I don’t know if she brought anything to the attention of the school, but she probably felt the only way to get away from them was to end her life, which is not fair to me and not fair to her 10-year-old sister that is here,” the aunt said. “It’s not fair to my parents or any of my family that we have to struggle daily and go through the pain of realizing that she’s not coming home. I just would like to see something more done with these kids than just being suspended, because that’s not enough.”

Another parent who spoke said her junior high school daughter is also being bullied both at school an online, through the use of an anonymous mobile app that kids are using on their phones. She said that when she tried to bring it to the attention of the principal at Washington School, she was instead referred to a guidance counselor.

“These issues shouldn’t just be brought to the counselors. It’s a school issue,” she said. “Parents need to be at an assembly with their children. There’s too many people letting their kids sit and be on their phone all day, every day. We need to have some kind of awareness, letting parents know they should let those kids have time out. They don’t need technology all day, every day.”

And yet another parent, Katina Glenn, who lost her daughter to suicide a couple years ago, said she urged Jamestown High School to have an assembly to address the issue, but that never happened.

“I came here last year to talk with JHS principal Dr. McElrath about doing an assembly on suicide awareness and prevention and it kind of got pushed aside due to, I feel, Jamestown football. And no offense to Jamestown football, but there’s more important things in the community that need to be addressed, which is bullying, domestic violence, suicide awareness, and prevention and it should be in the schools at all times, not just once a year,” Glenn said.

The Jamestown School Board during its Oct. 10, 2017 meeting.

Several others who spoke, including former students who recently graduated, shared their own personal accounts of bullying at Jamestown.

Following the comments, School board president Paul Abbott and school superintendent Bret Apthorpe both thanked those who spoke and said the district will be looking into ways to address the bullying issue and provide a safe place for all students.

Abbott also admitted that it may be a challenge to try and enforce any type of policy regarding the use of technology like mobile phone apps to bully another students, it is something the district will be looking into.

“I’m very naive as to how to get after something like that but this is something that Dr. Apthorpe and I have had a number of conversations about in the last few weeks, as well as other school board members,” Abbott said. “Whether it is this or any issue, when it comes to student safety and the safety of our staff, there is nothing that is more important to us.”

Apthorpe echoed Abbott’s sentiments and said that the district will be looking into ways to reduce bullying.

“This is one of those things where if it was something we could fix, like a roof or window or a building, we’d fix it and we’d fix it in spades. I think these testimonials today give us the soul food for us to continue our work around student safety,” Apthorpe said. “Our principals and directors got together and are trying to figure out how to systemically reach out to kids and have them report bullying in an anonymous fashion.”

Apthorpe also said that one of the steps that has been taken is the creation of an online form to better help students report bullying as part of the districts effort to be in compliance with the state’s Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), which includes a phone line that allows students and parents to report bullying incidents anonymously at each school in the district.

“This is anonymous place for kids or adults to report bullying. What I like about this is, over the short-run, is I see it and the principals see it… We can see how many complaints are being submitted but more importantly, we can see if there if follow up to it,” Apthorpe said. “I feel good about this because I know I can hold people accountable to make sure a caring adult has connected with a child, and that’s a first start. It was rolled out last week… There’s an enormous amount of work here to do. I’ll certainly get back to the board on the reporting that we have. We have a lot to do on this topic for sure.”

The residents will be on hand to raise awareness about a recent suicide that took place in Jamestown by a student who was reported by another local news agency to be enrolled in the school district. The group also plans to voice its concerns to the school district regarding what they feel is a lack of intervention when it comes to bullying and harassment, which can take place both inside city schools, as well as outside of school, including via social media.

According to a public event listing on Facebook entitled “Jamestown School Board – Suicide Awareness,” the host of the event listing states that “This is the time to show the school board this isn’t going away. [Board Members] cannot continue to allow the superintendent to deflect the issues at hand.”

The group does not specifically indicate in the event details what they believe the school superintendent, Bret Apthorpe, is deflecting.

On Tuesday, Oct. 3,  Apthorpe took part in an interview with WRFA and students in a high school government and economics class, and the issue of cyberbullying came up during the discussion.

“We have a 1-800 phone line. It’s called the DASA phone line,” Apthorpe explained to the class. “It’s meant for kids and families to call and report those things. They can do it anonymously. We can then have our councilors go out, check on a student, and make sure they are doing okay.”

DASA stands for the New York State Dignity for All Students Act, which states:

“No student shall be subjected to harassment or bullying by employees or students on school property or at a school function; nor shall any student be subjected to discrimination based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or sex.”

The school district has more information regarding its DASA policy, as well as numbers to call, posted on its website.

The Jamestown Board of Education will meeting will take place Tuesday, at 6 p.m. at Jamestown High School Auditorium. That meeting is open to the public and public comment will be allowed.  Those anyone wishing to speak to the school board must arrive prior to the start of the meeting and sign up as a speaker.

For individuals who are considering harm to themselves or who know someone who may be considering it, they can call the 24/7 National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Over 13 million American kids will be bullied this year, making it the most common form of violence experienced by young people in the nation.  This film, directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, offers an intimate, unflinching look at how bullying has touched five kids and their families. Students, parents, school teachers and administrators are encouraged to attend these screenings..

The film is rated PG-13 and runs for 94 minutes.

General admission tickets are $7.  Jamestown Community College/FSA tickets
are $6.  Middle and high school students are $5.

The new law follows the suicide last September of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old Williamsville North freshman who blogged often about the bullying he endured for being gay. Local police at the time said their hands were tied in pursuing a case because of the vagueness of state law pertaining to cyberbullying.

While schools already can have anti-bullying bullying policies in place in their required codes of conduct,  the new law further defines cyberbullying as part of a 2010 law meant to crack down on incidents of bullying in schools.

The law specifically defines cyberbullying as harassment taking place through any electronic means and that “reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or emotional harm to a student.’’ For purposes of involvement by school districts, the incidents of cyberbullying of a student could occur on or off school grounds.

The law creates a system for reports of cyberbullying to reach school principals or superintendents – and requires schools to take “prompt action’’ to intervene to end the harassment of a student. It also requires schools to devise specific anti-cyberbullying policies. It requires schools to report to law enforcement incidents of cyberbullying if school officials believe the acts “constitute criminal conduct.’’

Cuomo’s office said more than seven million students in the United States between the ages of 12 and 18 were bullied at school in 2009, and that 1.5 million students were believed to be the victims of cyberbullying either on or off school property.

The new law will go into effect next year.

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Home will be on the market starting January 1. That after the Chautauqua County Legislature approved a resolution last night 13 to 11 to enter into an agreement with the Marcus and Millichap firm to market the potential, sale, lease, or other disposition of the County Home. Following the voting session, County Executive Greg Edwards commended those who helped to pass the resolution.

“We are scheduled beginning January 1 to lose over $10,000 a day at our county home,” said Edwards. “I want to thank those leaders that agreed to do just that – lead, because you can’t turn a blind eye to a problem, you have to address it, and they did.”

Edwards added that under the agreement with Marcus and Millichap, the county will not pay any money to the firm unless a deal is struck with a potential buyer…

“We’re going to get all of this at no cost to the tax payers by having this done by Marcus and Millichap,” explained Edwards. “We will pay nothing unless a successful deal is brought to the legislature, approved by 17 votes of the legislature, approved by me as well and then goes forward to a successful closing.”

The county will also be able to establish various stipulations regarding the sale of the county home to any perspective buyer.

LAWMAKERS TAKE EACH OTHER TASK FOR VOTING ON COUNTY HOME RESOLUTION

MAYVILLE – To some members of the county legislature, the effort to act on the Marcus and Millichap resolution came as a surprise, considering it was tabled last month with the understanding it would be revisited in January with the arrival of eight new legislators. Keith Ahlstrom of Dunkirk even chastised some of his colleagues for bringing the measure back to the floor last night.

“We have some legislators here tonight that are leaving after distinguished careers as legislators and I would be embarrassed to have one of my last actions be something as dishonorable as this,” said Ahlstrom. “That we are looking at taking the voice away from a good segment of our workforce and from a good segment of the county.”

While Ahlstrom’s was quick to voice his disapproval of how the process was handled, Legislator Larry Barmore of Gerry defended to move.

“You talk about dishonor. Dishonor would be passing it along to the new guys coming next month instead of handling it yourself,”said Barmore. “We are not voting to sell the county home. We are voting to look into the options.”

Barmore was one of the 13 to vote in favor of the measure. Others who supported bringing Marcus and Millichap on board were outgoing legislator Rudy Mueller of Lakewood and Jamestown’s Chuck Nazarro.

To hear more from various lawmakers and individuals on the county home marketing resolution, tune in to Community Matters tonight at 6 p.m. right here on WRFA.

MOTION TO AMEND HUNTING LAW IS KILLED BY LAWMAKERS, TWO OTHER MOTIONS PASS UNANIMOUSLY

MAYVILLE – The legislature last night also killed a measure to amend the county hunting law. A motion that was sponsored by Mueller and Sheridan’s Bob Duff and tabled last month did not receive enough votes to come back to the floor last night. As a result, it was killed and will have to be redrafted and re-introduced at a future date.

Lawmakers also unanimously approved two motions that will be sent on to Albany. One involved requesting the state provide Medicaid relief to the Chautauqua County, eventually taking over all costs within an eight year period. The other was a request that the state cover any local health department costs involving ground water testing associated with hydro-fracking gas well drilling.

ANTI-BULLYING SEMINAR IS TODAY

JAMESTOWN – Local youth and adults who work with young people will be at the Gateway Center today in Jamestown to attend an Anti-bullying seminar. The “End the Silence, Spark the Leader” Anti-bullying seminar will involve two workshops and include discussions, music, food, and give-a-ways – plus a keynote speech from life coach Jerry Ackerman, who will share several tools with those in attendance. The event is being held in an effort to address traditional bullying along with the ever growing problem of cyber-bullying.

The first session is being held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and the second session running from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

JAMESTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS SEEKS REPLACEMENT BOARD MEMBER

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown School Board has started the process of finding a replacement for outgoing board member Barbara Piazza. Anyone interested in filling the empty seat for the remainder of this term should contact any member of the Board of Education. Interested persons would be able to run in the upcoming elections as well if they wish to continue serving on the board. There will be two seats up for a 3-year term and one seat up to complete the 1-year remaining on the open seat’s term.

Piazza was charged Friday with third-degree grand larceny after an investigation revealed she allegedly took more than $19,000 in cash between 2007 and 2011 while employed with Jamestown Area Medical Associates. Piazza began serving on the Jamestown Public School board in July 2010.

For more information regarding filling or running for the open seat, contact the Jamestown Public Schools district clerk at 483-4420, or email BOE@jamestown.wnyric.org.

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown Police are looking for a driver who was involved in a downtown accident Wednesday and then fled from scene. The accident took place at the intersection of West Third and Washington streets at 3 p.m.

According to police, a 1998 Ford Taurus heading north on Washington Street collided with a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix, which was heading south on Washington Street. The accident occurred when the driver of the Taurus tried to make an illegal left turn onto West Third Street. The woman driver then ran from the Taurus.

The driver is described as a white female, age 25 to 35, 5 feet 4 inches tall, 120 pounds, brown hair, wearing a gray Nike sweatshirt with black sweatpants with a stripe on the side. She was last seen on Second and Main streets.

The driver of the Pontiac – an unidentified 27-year-old woman – was taken to WCA Hospital for injuries. Her 2-year-old daughter was also taken to WCA. Anyone with information regarding the accident or the identity of the driver is asked to call the Jamestown Police Department at 483-7531.

COUNTY AUDIT AND CONTROL COMMITTEE TO MEET THIS MORNING

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature’s Audit and Control committee is meeting this morning in Mayville, with several items on its agenda, including a discussion of the Chautauqua County Home. During last month’s regular voting session, the full legislature voted to table a resolution entering into an agreement with the firm Marcus and Millichap, which would come on board to help to market the County Home in Dunkirk.  Today’s committee meeting begins at 8:35 a.m. in Room 331 of the Gerace Office Building.

ANTI-BULLYING SEMINAR SCHEDULED FOR DEC. 15 IN JAMESTOWN

JAMESTOWN – A group of  area youth organizations are teaming up to host a forum dealing with the growing problem of bullying. On December 15, an anti-bullying training session will take place at the Gateway Center on Water St. in Jamestown and will be hosted by several groups, including the Jamestown Youth Department. Director Vicky James says the title of the event is “End the Silence, Spark the Leader” and they are hoping the event will help to engage the 85-percent of youth who are not directly affected by bullying.

The day will feature several workshops and activities, along with a keynote speech from life coach and previous teacher Jerry Ackerman. The day will be split into two sessions… the first running from 8:30 to 11:30 and the other running from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Teachers, students and anyone else involved with youth programming and activities are encouraged to attend at least one of the seminars. We will have more details on the seminar later today on WRFA during our Community Matters program at 6 p.m.

JAMESTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ORCHESTRA TO PERFORM TONIGHT

JAMESTOWN – Over 100 orchestra students  from all six Jamestown elementary schools plus Washington, Persell and Jefferson Middle Schools string and JHS orchestra students will perform with internationally-known Barrage as part of their concert tonight at 7 p.m. in the Jamestown High School Auditorium.   Tickets for the concert are: Adults – $20, Students, Seniors & Children – $15 and are available at the Reg Lenna Box Office or at the door.

JCC ROCK ENSEMBLE PERFORMS THIS EVENING

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Community College rock ensembles, directed by Bill Eckstrom, will present Winter Jam tonight. Ten bands, ranging from rock to acoustic sets, are featured. The concert will be fully staged with sound and lighting by Steve Gustafson. The concerts begin at 7 p.m. in the Scharmann Theatre.

Admission to each concert is $4, general public; $3, area students and senior citizens; and $2, JCC Faculty Student Association members. Tickets can be purchased by calling the JCC box office, 338.1187, or at the theatre door prior to performances.