Diana Butcher, Program Director Anew Center, Major Kim Merchant from the Salvation Army, JTA President Stephanie Sardi and JTA Local Action Project Chairperson

The Jamestown Teachers Association has donated $1,192 to the Salvation Army Anew Center.

The JTA selects a charity or community organization twice a year to send a donation helping them continue to make an impact on the community.

The Anew Center plans to use the money to purchase items for special needs children who are being cared for in the Center.

JTA also is holding a Winter Social that will benefit the Chautauqua County Humane Society. Members bring in items on the CCHS Wish List and the money raised from the 50/50 raffle will be delivered to the pets at the local shelter.

Dr. Rosemary Bradley

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown School Board has accepted the resignation of Jamestown High School Principal Rosemary Bradley.

The board voted to accept the resignation during a special meeting Thursday morning, following a brief executive session.

“We thank Dr. Bradley for her service at Jamestown High School and wish her well in her professional journey,” Superintendent Bret Apthorpe said. “Mr. Williams’ leadership experience in our district and at JHS will help guide the school forward during this transition time until a new principal can be appointed.”

The resignation comes just five-and-half-months after Bradley began serving as principal of the high school. Her tenure there was highlighted by a vote of no confidence by the Jamestown Teachers Association in November, which came after an incident on Nov. 6 that involved students fighting and the school going into lockdown. At the most recent school board meeting on Dec. 3, over 100 people were in attendance with over two dozen voicing their concerns about student behavior at the school and also criticizing Bradley.

According to a media release sent out by the district later in the morning, the resignation is effective January 31, 2020. Current JHS Assistant Principal, Dana Williams, was appointed interim principal through June 30, 2020. Former JHS intern and Persell Middle School Special Education teacher, Allyson Smith, was also appointed as JHS Dean of Students.

Williams has worked for Jamestown Public Schools for 11 years as an assistant principal at Jamestown High School and Jefferson Middle School. He received his bachelor’s degree at SUNY Brockport and his master’s degree at St. Bonaventure University. He has a NYS School Administration/Supervision (SAS) Certification.

Miss Smith has been with the district since 2013 as a special education teacher at Persell Middle School. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nazareth College. Miss Smith completed an internship this fall at Jamestown High School and is currently working on her administrative certificate at St. Bonaventure University.

The School Board and Apthorpe will announce plans for a new principal search in the very near future.

Nearly 200 people were in attendance for the Dec. 13, 2019 Jamestown Board of Education meeting at Jefferson Middle School.

JAMESTOWN – Over 150 students, parents, teachers and other community members were at Jefferson Middle School last night to attend the Jamestown School Board meeting and share their concerns about ongoing student behavior problems throughout the district and the impact its having on the community.

The anticipated turnout came after a student lockdown incident on Nov. 6 at Jamestown High School when fighting broke out in the hallway and police had to be called in to help calm things down. In all, 27 different people spoke to the school board, spending over an hour and a half to share concerns and also request changes in school policy.

• RELATED: LISTEN TO FULL DEC. 3 DISCUSSION REGARDING STUDENT BEHAVIOR

Jamestown Teachers Association president Stephanie Sardi

Among those who spoke was Jamestown Teachers Association president Stephanie Sardi, who said the administration needs to bring in more staff members who specialize in helping students with emotional and behavioral issues.

“As classroom teachers we are not in the position to meet the needs of students who should be seen by an interventionist on a regular basis,” Sardi said during her statement on behalf of the JTA. “The students we are talking about are those who are victims and witnesses of emotional, psychological and physical abuse. These students need to be identified and supported by the appropriate staff members at the very first sight of distress. So what is the purpose of us being here tonight? Our purpose is to let you know the Jamestown Teachers Association is going to continue to advocate for better work conditions for everyone – not just the teachers, but for the staff and students in each building.”

Another who spoke was parent Joanne Dean, who said that unless changes are made, more and more students who don’t have behavioral issues will leave the district.

“Our district seems to be doing a great job at providing resources needed to support the 25-30 percent of our student population that doesn’t graduate by keeping kids in school and increasing daily attendance. But this seems to be done at the expense of the 70-75 percent majority of our population. Those students are going to start leaving Jamestown Public Schools to attend a district where they will be the focus. We can’t afford for this to happen.”

Jamestown resident and parent Joanne Dean

Another parent who spoke was Alyssa Canfield, who said that even though her spouse works at Jamestown, her family is still considering having their children attend school outside of the district.

“We have four daughters in the Jamestown School district and one is in eighth grade and she is currently in AP classes. But we have had the conversation about putting money aside, because if our other children aren’t able to attend these classes, we will be paying to send them somewhere else. That should say a lot, coming from a teacher of the district who wants to send his kids somewhere else.”

Several students also spoke to the school board, including those Dylan Lydell, who said the district needs to bring back programs that provided better support for at risk students, like night school and other alternative educational programs.

“To be perfectly honest, most of the students who attend JHS are good. But it’s the other small percentage who don’t know how to show basic respect and behavior in school who ruin it for everyone else,” Lydell said. “We’re not exactly sure why the night O.S.S. and AP programs were ended, but the board stated it was due to budgetary constraints. The board also felt the night program wasn’t doing enough to help students academically. So instead they took the students who did not belong in a classroom because they can’t participate in basic behavioral practices and stuck them in with students who actually care about their studies. Behavior problems started almost immediately.”

Much of the concerns and criticisms from the public comment were aimed at both current high school principal Rosemary Bradley – who only joined the district at the start of this year, along with former school superintendent Tim Mains (who left the district in early 2017), who critics say was responsible for reducing or eliminating the consequences and punishment that had been used to deal with poor behavior. Some who spoke also voiced disappointment that their repeated concerns have fallen on deaf ears with the current administration.

The Jamestown Board of Education during the Dec. 3, 2019 meeting

“This is not a new problem. This problem was addressed and then ignored under old superintendent Tim Mains. Then almost two years ago, this was brought up with new superintendent Dr. Apthorpe during a meeting with JTA,” explained 4th grade teacher Joey Leone. “I thought JTA did a great job of presenting at the meeting. We talked about the problems of student behavior and discipline. We offered some solutions or ideas. I walked away feeling very frustrated, not really listened to, and dismissed. These feelings were also shared by my colleagues.”

Following the public comment, board president Paul Abbott thanked those who attended and said he and others will encourage the administration better deal with misbehavior across the district.

“I know this has been focused on the high school to a great deal but I also agree with the comments about making sure that we’re getting our house in order right from the foundation with our kindergartners and first graders. This is very important to us. I’m not asking for any credit for it, but I can tell you that we have labored over this a great deal even before Nov. 6 and we expect some immediate improvements.”

Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe during the Dec. 3 school board meeting.

Prior to the public comment, School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe provided further details on a series of action steps that have been introduced in response to the high school lockdown incident, although the return of night school was not on the list. He did, however, say that among the steps being taken was identifying and removing 45 students from the high school who’ve exhibited chronic absenteeism and behavior issues. Those students will not be given alternative education programming at the school’s Tech Academy.

Apthorpe also said told WRFA following the meeting that other steps can and will be taken in the coming months. In the meantime, he was also thankful so many stakeholders showed up because it shows the community cares about its schools.

“It was a great two hours of public feedback and discussion. We need a lot more of that in this community,” Apthorpe said. “I thought the last speaker of the night – a mother of six kids – I thought she was very articulate about this should be the start of a conversation and a larger conversation of our community and being involved. I think its very healthy to have this sort of dialogue.”

Apthorpe also said he could not discuss how the district would deal with high school principal Bradley in the wake of the criticism from the students and staff, which included a vote of no confidence from JTA last month.

“While I can’t get into any individual personnel piece, it ultimately stops with me, the superintendent. So if our environments are not where they need to be I expect to be held accountable for that and the opposite is true of that. I expect people to do there jobs and hold them accountable for that,” Apthorpe said.

Apthorpe also said that the district will be providing an update on the various steps that have been undertaken and how they’ve impacted student behavior later this school year, most likely in mid March.

James School Board president Paul Abbott and school superintendent Bret Apthorpe during an April 2019 school board meeting.

JAMESTOWN – Officials with Jamestown Public Schools are expecting a large turnout for the Board of Education’s next regularly scheduled public meeting on Tuesday night, Dec. 3 beginning at 6 p.m.

As a result of the expected large audience, the meeting’s location has been changed to the auditorium of Jefferson Middle School. It was previously planned to be held in the school board meeting room inside the school administration building.

Tuesday’s meeting will be the school board’s first publicly held meeting since Jamestown High School was put into lockdown on Nov. 6 in response to fights that had broken out in the building. Following the incident, both parents and teachers voiced concern about the fighting and how the lockdown process played out. The Jamestown Teachers Association also announced it had issued a vote of no confidence in new high school principal Rosemary Bradley.

Meanwhile, the school board held a closed-door meeting the week after the lockdown to discuss student discipline matters and to finalize several action steps that would be taken in order to work toward preventing similar incidents from happening in the future.

The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting allows for an opportunity for public comment near the start of the meeting. The complete agenda can be found online at the school website.

According to the Post-Journal, the no confidence vote was held last week and followed an incident on Nov. 6 when the school was placed in lock-down following reported fight. The Jamestown Teachers Association says the lock-down incident is described as the “tipping point” for school staff, with 86% of JTA members supporting the vote. Three other unions — including paraprofessionals, secretaries and custodial staff at the high school — also held similar votes.

The no confidence vote is a symbolic, non-binding vote taken by the membership of a union as a way to express their concerns to the school board and district leadership.

JTA members say staff had concerns with Bradly prior to the Nov. 6 lock down incident and they first tried to work with her taking the no confidence vote. But they opted to hold the no confidence vote this past Thursday, citing a lack of trust and support for teachers, a lack of consistency in dealing with student behavior, as well as poor interpersonal relationships between Bradley and her staff, and poor decision-making in general.

Bradley has over 23 years experience as an educator. Prior to coming to Jamestown at the start of the new school year, she was an Assistant Principal for Alternative Education Program and Special Education Program at the Sullivan County BOCES. She had also worked as a science teacher for 19 years in the Rochester City School District.

JTA members are expected to present additional concerns during the school board’s next public meeting on Monday, Dec. 3.

The Jamestown school board approved the JTA Contract at its board meeting Thursday, and the JTA membership ratified the contract on Wednesday. The four-year agreement is effective immediately and runs through June 2018. The JTA has been without a new contract since June 2014.

JTA President Chris Reilly said the union feels the settlement is a fair one and members pleased with it. School board president Paul Abbott said the members of the board are pleased that the District and the JTA could come to a mutually-beneficial agreement, adding that the board knows how hard both teams have worked to come to a fair conclusion that will ultimately benefit our students and district.

According to the Post-Journal, the new contract isn’t all that different from the previous contract, other than adding an additional payment step to better reward teaching longevity. The old contract had 22 steps, and ended at $82,000. The new contract contains 23 steps and ends at $85,000. Only teachers  who have put in 30 years or more at the district would reach the highest step.  The contract also includes an attendance incentive, that rewards retirees based on unused sick days they have acquired.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown School Board has approved a $77.6M budget that cuts 16 positions and includes a 1.5 percent tax increase.

The board voted on the spending plan Tuesday night after Superintendent Tim Mains presented some final budget adjustments, which include a $103,000 reduction in professional development to ensure that no staff members would be laid off for the 2015-16 school year. As a result, all position cuts will be made through attrition.

The Jamestown School Board voted 6-0 Tuesday, April 21 on a $77.6 million budget that increase taxes by 1.5 percent and cuts 16 positions.

The final vote was 6 to 0, with board member Tom Pope absent from the meeting.

Mains said that while he was not pleased that the district had to cut more positions during a time when the school is asking to do more for its students, he did say that he was pleased with the budget process and the final result.

“Not everyone is happy with every piece,” Mains said. “But I think collectively, people recognize that this is the package that will work and it has the key elements that are important to the board, based on the input they received from the community.”

Jamestown Teachers Association President Chris Reilly – who earlier the budget process urged the board to do its best to preserve as many positions as possible – said that he can also accept the budget, considering there will be no layoffs…

Yes, we’re happy that the four JTA members will be coming back,” Reilly told WRFA following the vote. “It is unfortunate that we’re losing 16 positions, because the loss of those positions has an impact on everybody that remains – class sizes become larger, services that we can offer become non existent – so it still has an impact. It’s not a perfect budget but I think, as many of the board members said, it’s the best that we could do in these times.”

Each board member also weighed in on the process prior to the vote, including Shelly Leathers, who is the chair of the board’s finance committee. Leathers said she’d like to see the budget process start sooner and following the meeting, she expanded on what she meant.

“I think we’re actually going to start crafting the budget in August,” Leathers said. “I think that’s when it begins. I think we meed to start looking at the things we were not satisfied for this year and start looking at how to improve them next year, and to really monitor or fiscal situation every month, so that it’s not a surprise come April.”

The budget does call for a 1.5 percent tax increase, which is the first increase proposed by the district in five years. It will bring in an additional $220,000 – which school officials say will help to pay for four positions.

Board president Joe DiMaio said he understands taxpayers never want to see an increase, no matter how small, but he also that he’s hoping property owners understand why the increase put in place…

“We need your help,” DiMaio said when asked what he will tell taxpayers in regard to the increase. “We need to do this because included in [a budget without an increase] would be some things we don’t want to happen. The only thing that the state has done to try and get (taxpayers) on board is any tax increase – because we have kept it way below the cap – they will get a check for that amount of money that their taxes will go up, so they will get it back.”

According to school officials, the increase means the tax payment on a $100,000 home in the city will go up by $28.50. For a $50,000 home, it would be $14.25.

The school will hold a public hearing for the budget on May 12 at 7 p.m. at Percell Middle School. The public will then vote on the spending plan – along with two board seats – during the budget vote and board election on May 19.

Jamestown School Superintendent Tim Mains presents the tentative 2015-16 budget during the April 7, 2015 school board meeting at Lincoln School.

JAMESTOWN, NY – The Jamestown School Board got its first look at the tentative 2015-16 budget, which includes the elimination of 16 positions and also a 1.5 percent tax increase.

On Tuesday night Jamestown school superintendent Tim Mains presented the details of the $77.6 million spending plan. The budget contains a 2.42 percent increase in spending compared to the current year’s budget. However, the two biggest line items in the budget – salaries and benefits – both see reductions by about 1.3 and 2.9 percent respectively.

The largest contributing costs to the budget are an increase in BOCES fees, debt service, and contract services.

• POWERPOINT BUDGET PRESENTATION

CUTTING POSITIONS NECESSARY TO CLOSE SPENDING GAP

Jamestown Teachers Association President Chris Reilly addresses the school board during the April 7, 2015 meeting.

During his presentation, Mains said he was forced to deliver a budget that calls for a significant reduction in staffing as well as a slight tax increase because the amount of state aid the district will receive is not nearly enough to close a $2.1 million budget gap.

As for the position cuts, the majority will be through attrition by way of early retirements, although there is also the possibility for up to four layoffs. However, Mains said that two of those individuals may be able to stay on by filling two new positions that might have to be created – although the district won’t know for certain until the start of the new school year in September.

Mains said says the other two layoffs could stay in the district by way of long term substations (LTS).

“I have long term sub positions that I’m going to be able to offer them,” Mains explained to reporters following the meeting. “I know that two of them absolutely I’m going to be able to provide something to. But an LTS position isn’t the same [as a permanent position]. It’s a little bit tenuous.”

Prior to the budget presentation, several individuals addressed the school board during the public comment, including Jamestown Teachers Association president Chris Reilly. He requested the board not pursue any layoffs, saying the number of insdtructors in the district has already seen a significant decrease in recent years.

“We as a district can not achieve the level of success we all aspire to with class sizes of 30 students or, for that matter, 25 or even 22,” Reilly said. “When I became the JTA president eight years ago, we had 530 members. Our membership records as of today show that we have 483 members. That’s an 8.9 percent reduction mostly occurring in the past four or five years.”

The union president also reminded the board that the JTA had already done its part, with nearly two dozen members taking an early retirement in order to reduce costs and prevent any possible layoffs.

TAX INCREASE WELL BELOW TAX CAP

As for the 1.5 percent property tax increase, Mains said he feels it’s justifiable considering it’s the first increase in five years.

“We had already gotten some [information] telegraphed during board discussions that it sounded as though folks might be willing to consider something in that neighborhood,” Mains said. “So we listened to the board and put that out there. I do believe it’s extremely reasonable. A 1.5 percent increase could be justified in just one year alone and when you say it’s the first increase in five years, it makes it even more justifiable.”

An increase of 1.5 percent would result in $220,000 in new revenue, which would help to protect four positions from being cut. Under the state’s tax cap guidelines, the district had the option of increasing taxes by as much as 3.25 percent.

BUDGET PROCESS TO CONTINUE APRIL 15

After learning about the budget, some school board members offered their initial thoughts. Board member Tom Pope said he’s not comfortable with any tax increase and he’s also concerned about using $1,000,000 from the district’s fund balance, which would all but deplete the money from the “rainy day” account unless the district was to realize unanticipated savings during the current year.

Board members Paul Abbott and Patrick Slagle also had questions regarding the allocation of more than $300,000 toward professional development,while at the same time the district was looking at cutting 16 positions.

In addition to Reilly’s comments, six others also spoke during the meeting regarding the budget, with several representatives from the Jamestown YWCA requesting the district not cut the TEAM program, which provides services to students who are mothers or who are expecting. Mains noted during his budget presentation that both TEAM – as well as Chautauqua Striders – will not see any cuts in funding.

The board will continue to discuss the budget and consider adjustments during a work session next Wednesday, April 15 – beginning at 5:30 p.m. However, its not expected to act on a final budget until the following week.

The school board has until April 26 to approve a spending plan and put it before the public for a vote.

The event is being coordinated by both the Jamestown Teachers Association and the southwestern Teachers Association and will focus on challenges local districts are facing, primarily due to increased mandates from the state without a corresponding increase in aid. Several individuals are slated to speak, including Jamestown School Superintendent Tim Mains.

Teachers and residents from schools across the state have been organizing rallies to show solidarity and voice concern over a series of education reforms being proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, which include stricter guidelines for teacher evaluations.

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows a large portion of New Yorkers are not supportive of Cuomo’s plans for education reform—and it’s dragged down his approval rating to a new low of 50 percent.

Tonight’s forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Southwestern High School auditorium and is open to the public.