Jamestown High School Resource Officer Jeremy Maggio presents to Jamestown School Board (May 17, 2023)

The Jamestown School Board has approved hiring a company to perform a security vulnerability assessment of school buildings.

Jamestown High School Resource Officer Jeremy Maggio presented to the board on the resolution.

He said the district’s Safety and Security Committee, which he is part of, recommended Amoured One to do the assessment after several weeks of research, “Armoured One is a company that is nation-wide. They currently go to every active shooting that has happened across our nation. Whenever one happens, as soon as they find out that something is going on, they’re currently getting an airline ticket and flying to that spot, or driving to that spot to assess what had happened, how do they fix an active shooter situation or a mass casualty situation.”

Maggio said the company will look for vulnerabilities and weaknesses as well as what’s done well, “They will then grade and rate each business or school based on a nationwide category. They look at myself, as being an SRO, to make sure things are being done properly.”

Maggio said the time estimate for when Amoured One could do the assessment is sometime in June or July. Board President Paul Abbott said his preference is that they do it as soon as possible so that the assessment happens while classes are in session.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said the cost estimate for the assessment is between $17,250 and $19,000. Once the assessment is done, a report will be given to the Superintendent, the Safety and Security Committee, as well as the School Board.

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.

Jamestown School Board Ex-Officio Student Members Aubrey Reynolds and Emylia Hallberg (March 28, 2023)

Jamestown High School students on the Jamestown School Board expressed concern over safety in schools in the wake of recent stabbings in the city.

Ex-Officio student member Emylia Hallberg said while there is more police support in the school, the students want to see a Safety Committee created to get public input.

The other Ex-Officio student member, Aubrey Reynolds, agreed, “I think a lot of the faculty is concerned for the safety of the students and safety of themselves in general. I mean, they were promised a safety committee earlier this year. Not much action has taken place, so they’d like to see that go forward and so would we. We really care about our school. The recent issues with the fights, all the stabbings, is kind of causing an uneasy feeling in the school.”

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said there had seemed to be interest from the community to join a Safety Committee, “But we didn’t get a lot of interest. I reached out to a few people and made some phone calls to say, ‘I heard that you might be interested. Would you like to join?’ People said, ‘Well, sure yeah, ok. Just let me know if that’s a thing.’ But we had very, very few people from outside the district say they would be interested so that was a little disappointing.”

Whitaker said the committee would look at items like ballistics coating on windows, weapons and metal detection; tactical issues, and infrastructure issues. He said while he wanted the community to have a voice, if that doesn’t work out there will be a district-building safety committee at the least.

Following the 13th school shooting in the nation this year, Board President Paul Abbott said more communication is needed of everyone’s concerns. He said he feels the District has safety as a top priority, “I think it’s important that people know and understand what we’re doing. I absolutely agree that it’s really important that everyone has a voice and an opportunity to express their concerns. I guess as far as the Safety Committee geos, that is certainly a great avenue for that.”

Abbott added that if volunteers weren’t interested, he’d still want to see a committee that included people from every school building, bargaining unit, and student representatives.

Board Member Pat Slagle said he thinks it’ll take the community, including a Safety Committee, coming together to figure out the puzzle pieces to eliminate safety issues in the district. He said a lot of investment has been made to secure the schools including the recent over $400,000 investment in a secure vestibule entrance at Persell Middle School, “We have the Red Shirt program. We have the Red Shirts here tonight. SRO’s (School Resource Officers), that’s about $100,000 per SRO. We’ve increased social workers in school. We’ve increased mental health access. We’ve partnerships with the County to provide that. We have new programs to hopefully help reduce incidences of bullies in schools. We continue to reach out to community partners on how we can continue to affect these students who are no longer students, but causing issues in and around the schools.”

Slagle added that the board and district will continue to take all steps needed to keep students and staff safe.

Members of the community who are interested in joining the School District’s Safety Committee may contact that Administrative Offices at 716-483-4350.

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.