Jamestown Public Schools vote results for May 16, 2023

Voters have approved the Jamestown Public Schools’ 2023-24 Budget.

The $101 million proposal passed by a vote of 555 to 127.

Voters also approved the creation of a $5 million Capital Reserve Fund by a vote of 575 to 106.

The three school board seats that were open were won by John Panebianco with 576 votes, Christine Schnars with 514 votes, and Paul Abbott with 512 votes. The fourth candidate, who did not win a seat, Melissa Paterniti, received 240 votes.

Panebianco, who is replacing current board member Shelly Leathers who declined to run again, said he’s excited to join the board, “It’s a new chapter in my life. I’m excited to be part of this wonderful team and continuing to help students in the Jamestown School District.”

The results remain unofficial until the JPS Board of Education’s Canvass Vote Meeting tonight at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Board Room of the Administration Building at 197 Martin Road.

School budgets

Polls open at noon today in the Jamestown Public Schools District with voting open until 9:00 p.m.

People may go to Jefferson or Washington Middle Schools; or Lincoln Elementary School to vote.

The $101 million 2023-24 school budget has no tax levy increase.

The budget does include the hiring of 18 new teachers, most of whom will staff new Student Support Centers.

Besides the budget, a proposition will also be on the ballot to fund a new Capital Improvement Reserve Fund with up to $5 million.

Four candidates are also on the ballot for three seats on the Jamestown Public Schools Board of Education. In order of appearance on the ballot, they are: Paul Abbott, Christine Schnars, John Panebianco, and Melissa Paterniti.

For more information on the budget and school board candidates, visit jpsny.org

The Jamestown Parent-Teacher Organization held a “Meet The Candidates” forum on May 11, 2023 so the public could learn more about the four candidates running for three open seats on the Jamestown School Board. The candidates include Paul Abbott, John Panebianco, Melissa Paterniti, and Christine Schnars.

Jamestown School Board candidates
Top Row: Paul Abbott, John Panebianco
Bottom Row: Missy Paterniti, Christine Schnars

Jamestown School Board Meet the Candidates Forum.
Left to Right, Top to Bottom: John Panebianco, Paul Abbott, Christine Schnars, Melissa Paterniti (May 11, 2023)

Candidates for Jamestown School Board shared their experience and why they’re running for the board at a “Meet The Candidates” forum held Thursday night.

There are four candidates running for three open seats.

Parent-Teacher Organization President Joanne Dean and Treasurer Melissa Rhodes presented a series of questions submitted by the public to candidates.

New candidate John Panebianco said he’s running because of he believes his experience can help the district, “I started out teaching at the kindergarten and sixth grade level. I went from that to Dean of Students and a principalship. And I also was the Director of Pupil Services at Chautauqua Lake Schools and middle grade’s Principal. And then in Jamestown, I was also the Director of Pupil Services and then the Director of Human Resources.”

Current Board President Paul Abbott said he found while serving on the board that the problem solving involved is not too dissimilar from his career with Jamestown Police Department, “You have more time to think about stuff on the school board, but I’m used to dealing with conflict and problems and working through things. I’m from Jamestown and I’ve always been passionate about our district. And in my position as Commander of the Police Department, I was used to dealing with a lot of labor issues.”

Current Board Member Christine Schnars has been on the board for over 30 years and currently serves as second vice president and Area 3 Director for the New York State School Board Association.

She said she also is currently a member of the Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES Board, “The reason I decided to run again is that the last few years we’ve been through a lot here in Jamestown. A lot in this state and a lot in this country. We went through COVID and now we’re going through recovery and the recovery isn’t done. We made a lot of moves to help the students adjust and get back to where they ought to be. We’re not there yet. So, there’s a lot more work to be done and a lot more we need to do and I feel I have a lot to contribute to that work.”

New candidate Melissa Paterniti said she chose to run so her voice could be heard and be that avenue for parents who don’t know how the school board works, “So I can be that avenue for parents that don’t understand how the board works or try to teach people in the community how to get things to the board.”

Paterniti is Jamestown Community College graduate. She previously drove for Uber and Lyft; and is now employed by Ballgame Heroes.

The full Candidates Forum will be available on wrfalp.net and our Soundcloud by late Friday morning.

Jamestown School Board candidates
Top Row: Paul Abbott, John Panebianco
Bottom Row: Missy Paterniti, Christine Schnars

Voters can learn more about candidates running for Jamestown School Board at a “Meet the Candidates Night” tonight.

The event will take place at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administration Building at 197 Martin Road. It is open to the public.

The four candidates running for three seats on the school board include incumbents Paul Abbott and Christine Schnars with John Panebianco and Melissa Paterniti running for the first time. Shelly Leathers is not seeking re-election to the board.

District voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, May 16 to vote on the school budget and school board candidates.

For more information on each candidate, visit jpsny.org/boeelections.

Jamestown School Board candidates
Top Row: Paul Abbott, John Panebianco
Bottom Row: Missy Paterniti, Christine Schnars

A “Meet the Candidates Night” will be held May 11 for the four candidates running for Jamestown School Board.

The event will take place at 6:00 p.m., Thursday May 11 in the Board Room of the Administration Building at 197 Martin Road.

The four candidates running for three seats on the school board include incumbents Paul Abbott and Christine Schnars with John Panebianco and Melissa Paterniti running for the first time. Shelly Leathers is not seeking re-election to the board.

The forum is free and open to the public.

Questions for the candidates can be sent to moderators, Parent Teacher Organization President Joanne Dean at deans@stny.rr.com, or PTO Treasurer Melissa Rhodes at msrhodes1984@gmail.com.

The deadline for question submission is May 10.

District voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, May 16 to vote on the school budget and school board candidates.

For more information on each candidate, visit jpsny.org/boeelections.

Jamestown School Board candidates
Top Row: Paul Abbott, John Panebianco
Bottom Row: Missy Paterniti, Christine Schnars

Four candidates are running for three open seats on the Jamestown School Board.

Shelly Leathers is not seeking re-election for her seat, leaving that open for a newcomer.

Paul Abbott is seeking his sixth term. He has served as the Board of Education President since 2016. He is a JHS alumnus and graduated from Jamestown Community College, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Academy and the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. He is retired as the Investigative Commander of the Jamestown Police Department and is currently employed by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department.

John Panebianco is seeking his first term on the Board of Education. He worked for Jamestown Public Schools for 14 years, retiring as director of human resources. Panebianco is a United States Air Force and Army National Guard veteran and holds an associate’s degree from JCC and a bachelor’s, master’s and two administrative degrees from SUNY Fredonia.

Missy Paterniti is also seeking her first term on the board. She graduated from Jamestown High School in 1993 and received an associate’s degree from Jamestown Community College in 1996. Paterniti previously worked for The Resource Center and Uber/Lyft rideshare services. She currently works for Ballgame Heroes. Paterniti is a member of the JPS Safety Committee.

Christine Schnars is seeking her third term on the board since returning to it in 2017. She has been a member of the BOE for 31 years. She currently serves as second vice president and Area 3 Director for the New York State School Board Association and is currently a member of the Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES Board. She is a past president of the Fletcher PTA and served on the State Congress of Parent and Teacher Board of Governors.

District voters will have the opportunity to approve the Jamestown Public Schools $101,475,978 budget and vote for three members of the district’s board of education on Tuesday, May 16.

A Budget Hearing will take place at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 9 at Jefferson Middle School.

For more information on the 2023-24 school budget and the board member election, visit jpsny.org/budget.

There will be three board seats on the May 16 ballot, each for a three-year term, beginning July 1, 2023. Those three seats are currently held by board members Paul Abbott, Shelly Leathers, and Christine Schnars.

School board candidates must submit a completed petition containing the names of 100 or more qualified voters within the school district to be eligible for the May 16 ballot. Petitions are due back to the Superintendent’s Office on Wednesday, April 26.

Any questions about the Board of Education petition process, voter registration or absentee voting applications can be directed to 716-483-4420.

Jamestown School Board meeting

Jamestown Public Schools are preparing to send COVID-19 test kits home with students ahead of winter break.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker updated the school board, saying Governor Kathy Hochul asked schools to distribute the tests prior to February break so the state could have test results as part of metrics they will look at in March for when they decide whether to change mask guidelines for schools.

Whitaker said what the district normally reports to the state are positive tests, “Meaning how many home tests have tested positive, how many tests have come to us as positive tests. We don’t report negative tests unless they’re given to us by one of our nurses. This is an opportunity for us, as the Governor has asked parents to test students before they return on the day they return, and later in that week. So not next week but the week after. So if we have a lot of negative tests, maybe that helps us with the mask decision that comes from the Governor.”

Board member Christine Schnars said as an officer with the New York State School Boards she had the opportunity to be on a call with Governor Hochul recently. She said the majority of the school officials on the call are hoping Hochul’s decision on mask mandates will be made statewide or on a regional basis, “Not leave it up to local, individual districts. Because it would be pretty hard as a local district for us to decide to keep masks on our kids if a neighboring district was taking them off.”

Whitaker explained how test kits will be distributed, “So parents who are parents of secondary kids can expect them to be coming home with their kids. Parents who are parents of elementary kids can either call and request to pick them up, can get them handed to them at drop off time, or they could say ‘safely send it home with my child.”

Whitaker added that it is not mandatory for parents to test their children, but those who do can call in the test results to the school.

Jamestown Public School finance director Vern Connors goes over details of the proposed 2018-19 school budget with Jamestown School Board members and staff during the board’s April 10, 2018 board meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown School Board is getting closer to approving the district’s $86.23 million budget for next school year.

During the board’s meeting on Tuesday night, school finance director Vern Connors walked the board through an updated budget presentation that was put together after the state finalized its school aid numbers for Jamestown.

According to Connors, Jamestown will see an increase of $1.2 million in aid over the current year’s budget, bringing total state aid to about $67.86 million for next year. That amounts to 78.7 percent of total revenue for the district. The district’s property tax levy of $14.64 million would cover another 18.9 percent of total revenue.

With an expected surplus from the current year, combined with additional aid for next year, Connors said the 2018-19 budget is intended to serve as a transitional budget for the district that will focus on long-term needs and liabilities, including reducing the district’s debt service and freeing up future moneys for program needs.

It also calls for restoring or establishing various funds, with that money being utilized for future anticipated and unanticipated expenses without having to rely on tax payer money to offset those costs.

The budget also calls for $1 million to be put toward immediate capitol improvement and infrastructure needs, along with the purchase of five new school buses without having to borrow.

The board has also agreed that it will focus on adjusting programming in the 2019-2020 budget and as a result, is only looking to add 14 positions for next year – with six of them being listed as contingency positions – ad a cost of an additional $530,000 over the current year’s budget.

Compared to the current year’s budget, the total spending for next year’s proposed budget would see an increase of $1,003,372 – an increase of 1.18 percent.

Board Members Discuss Tax Reduction

School board members Shelly Leathers and Patrick Slagle again lobbied for a slight 1 percent ($146,415.76) reduction in the property tax levy, saying that because the district now has some financial flexibility, it may be the time to provide relief to city property owners.

“This is a great budget and I can’t see why anyone would vote against this budget. We’re doing a lot of great things and we’re setting ourselves up to do some great things in the future,” Slagle said. “But I think that a 1 percent tax reduction is well within our means without sending things out of control… every year I’m always willing to say lets see what we can do to reduce the tax burden on our citizens.”

However, other board members, including Nina Karbacka, Christine Schnars, Dan Johnson, and Joe Pawelski all said that that the board has done a good job in holding the line on taxes – considering there’s only been one permanent increase during the past 10 years.  They also said that some of the long-term financial planning the district is pursuing will help to continue holding the line on taxes.

“In deciding our budget goals, we talked about wanting to maintain a stable school tax levy and I am certainly, absolutely in support of that – that we don’t increase the tax levy and we don’t increase taxes for our tax payers. But we also said we want to improve student performance and we have things coming up in the future like the Success Academy that we want to promote, put money into it, and provide success avenues for our students…. I would be opposed to giving money back to the taxpayers and reducing the tax levy, instead of doing some of the things we could do to improve student achievement,” Schnars said.

“I think our first obligation is the student in our school system. Though we have kept our program stable, it does not acknowledge the fact that over the past ten years we have lost almost 100 positions,” Karbacka said, adding, “I think that keeping [the tax levy] where it is is very fiscally responsible. It’s been there for ten years. As our cost of living and expenses have going up over the past ten years, our taxes have remained the same. You could almost look at that as a tax reduction because everything else has gone up for everyone, except for our taxes.”

Board president Paul Abbott said he would be in favor of a slight tax cut as well, but added that he would support the budget with or without a tax reduction, so long as there was no tax increase.

“For the first time I think I’m prepared to also support the idea of a half percent or 1 percent decrease in the tax levy,” Abbott said.

Superintendent Bret Apthorpe said he appreciated the spirit of the tax cut discussion, but also reminded the board that it needs to be careful on how it proceeds.

“The work we’ve done does dignify long term planning. It does dignify the challenges our city has. It does dignify decreasing our debt service because our debt service is about 12 percent of our budget, and that’s too high. If we want to maintain long-term stability – and that means quality student programming and we keep the zeros on the tax levy moving head – the budget that we’ve worked on here has been trying to dignify all those things.”

Still, Apthorpe said he and his staff will work on a couple of different options to pursue in regards to the tax cut issue and bring details forward during the next school board meeting.

The board will see a final version of the budget – along with what impact a tax cut would have on future budgets – during next week’s board meeting on Tuesday, April 17. It will then vote on the final spending plan, which would then be put forward for a public vote in May.