The hearing on the $93.8 million budget as well as propositions on the ballot will take place at 6:00 p.m. in the Jamestown High School Auditorium.

The community can also access the Budget Book at www.jpsny.org/budget, at the Prendergast Library, or at 197 Martin Road during regular business hours.

Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, May 17 from noon to 9:00 p.m. to vote on the budget, its propositions, as well as for school board members up for re-election.

L to R: Brianne Fadale, Dan Johnson, and Nina Karbacka

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown School District is announcing that three candidates are running for the two Jamestown School Board seats that are up for a vote during the school election on May 15.

The three candidates are incumbent board members Nina Karbacka and Dan Johnson, along with newcomer Brianne Fadale.

According to the district, Fadale is seeking her first term on the Board of Education. She is currently a Staff Development Specialist with Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES and had previously served as a special education teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, as well as the girls’ modified soccer coach and an assistant basketball coach at Persell Middle School.

Johnson, who is seeking his third term on the Board of Education, spent 22 years with the Jamestown Police Department, retiring in 2010, and is currently the Senior Investigator with the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office.

Karbacka is seeking her second term on the Board of Education. Before retiring, Karbacka taught music in the Jamestown Schools for 40 years. She has also been nominated vice president in the New York State Association of Small City School Districts.

The Board of Education Elections and School Budget Vote will be held on May 15th from noon to 9 p.m. at Jefferson and Washington Middle Schools and Lincoln Elementary School for all registered voters.

For any information on the School Board Elections, or where to vote, please call Jaunita Walter at 483-4420.

In addition to all budgets passing, all of the other propositions that appeared on the ballots for each respective district were also approved, with the only exception being a proposition in the Pine Valley School District to reduce the seats on the board of education. That proposition was defeated with 125 “no” votes to 71 “yes” votes.

• VIEW UNOFFICIAL RESULTS FOR EACH DISTRICT

JAMESTOWN VOTERS APPROVE BUDGET, SCHNARS RETURNS TO SCHOOL BOARD

In Jamestown, voters approved an $85 million budget by a vote of 504 to 106. That spending plan included no tax increase and also had no layoffs or staff reductions.

In the school board election race, incumbents Paul Abbott and Shelly Leathers won reelection. The third seat will go to Christine Schnars, who was previously on the school board for several years, up until June 2012 when she failed to receive enough votes in that year’s elections. Incumbent Tom Pope chose not to run for reelection this year.

JPS VOTE TALLY

• *Paul Abbott:  459
• *Rachelle “Shelly” Leathers: 376
• Christine Schnars: 343
• Frank Galeazzo:  249
• Fannell Leeper:  247
  * Notes Incumbent

The district’s bus proposition also was approved.

In the other local school board races that featured contested ballots, Jennifer Olson and Tom Frederes were the two top vote-getters in the Falconer School District, were two seats were up for election.  And in the Chautauqua Lake School District, which had three seats up for a vote, the top vote getters were Mary Lee Talbot, Jay Baker, and Deborah Cross-Fuller.

Candidates for the Jamestown School Board 2017 Election: (Top Row, L to R) Paul Abbott, Frank Galeazzo,

Candidates for the Jamestown School Board 2017 Election: (Top Row, L to R) Paul Abbott, and Shelly Leathers. (Bottom Row, L to R) Fannel Leeper and Christine Schnars.

JAMESTOWN – It appears there will be at least one new member of the Jamestown School Board when the new school year begins in July.

Wednesday was the deadline for school board candidates to submit petitions to run for three seats up for election in May.  A total of five individuals handed in signed petitions, with only two of them being current board members. They are board president Paul Abbott and board member Shelly Leathers. Long-time board member Tom Pope has apparently decided not to run for reelection.

The three other individuals who also submitted petitions are former Jamestown school board member and president Christine Schnars, city resident Fannell Leeper, and city resident Frank Galeazzo.

The Jamestown City Council PTSA will hold a Jamestown Board of Education Candidates’ Forum on Thursday, May 11th at 6 p.m. in the Board Room in the Administration Building at 197 Martin Road. The public is encouraged to attend to learn more about the candidates and ask questions.

A public hearing regarding the JPS 2017-18 Proposed Budget will be held on Tuesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. at Persell Middle School. The 2017-18 Proposed Budget is also available for public review at 197 Martin Road or at www.jamestownpublicschools.org under the button “2017-18 Budget Information.”

The 2017-18 School Budget Vote and School Board Elections will be held on Tuesday, May 16 from noon to 9 p.m.

Official petitions can also be picked up at the district office by any resident in the district interested in running for the school board.  There are three school board seats up for vote at the May 16 election. Those three seats are currently held by Board President Paul Abbott and board members Shelly Leathers and Tom Pope.

The $85 million 2017-18 School Budget vote and School Board Elections will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 from noon to 9 p.m. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 9.  Information about the budget can also be found at the school website.

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

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections reports that all 18 districts in the county saw their budgets approved by voters. In addition, every district that had additional propositions (most dealing with borrowing for bus/transportation purchases) were also approved.

Every district in the county also held a school board election, with most of them being uncontested. However, in Jamestown four candidates ran for two board seats – with incumbent board member Patrick Slagle gaining the largest number of votes to secure his reelection. In addition, former board member Joe Pawelski, who ran as a last-minute write-in candidate, received the second highest number of votes.

More than 960 residents came out to vote in the Jamestown school election, with Slagle picking up 851 votes and Pawelski gaining 638. Coming in third was Jeffrey Yeates with 258 and Todd Rushforth finished fourth with 198.

Current school board president Joe DiMaio also had his name on the ballet but said that he had decided against seeking another term on the board. Despite his announcement he still received 101 votes.

The $79.18 million Jamestown school budget was approved 757 to 207 while the $930,000 transportation proposition was approved 772 to 191.

All results from the election are unofficial until the canvass of votes, taking place Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room at 197 Martin Road. The board will also hold a regular meeting as well.

Among the districts in Southern Chautauqua County, only Jamestown and Sherman are featuring contested school board races.

In Jamestown, residents will head to the polls to vote on a $79.18 million budget that includes a slight tax cut, along with no programming or staffing cuts. Residents will also vote on a transportation proposition to borrow $930,000 to assist with the purchase of new school buses.

In addition, they will also vote for two open seats for the Jamestown School Board, with four candidates running.

Candidates whose names will appear on the ballot for the board of education are Jeffrey Yeates, Todd Rushforth, incumbent Patrick Slagle, and current board president Joe DiMaio. However, DiMaio announced last week that he has decided to pull out of the race and will not accept another term to the board if elected. In addition to the three active candidates whose names will appear on the ballet, former long-time board member Joe Pawelski has announced that he is running in a write-in campaign.

Besides the school budget vote and school board election,

Voting will run from noon until 9 p.m. on Tuesday at three locations in the district: Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln schools.

Other districts holding a budget vote and school board election today include:

Sherman School District

• $9.62 million
• Three candidates running for two seats: Jennifer Ferreira, Gary DeLellis, Robert Head
• Transportation proposition to borrow $360,000

Voting at Sherman School from Noon to 9pm.

Southwestern School District

• $26.59 million budget
• One candidate running for one board seat: William Burk
• Transportation proposition to borrow $290,000

Voting will take place at Southwestern School from 7am to 9am and 2pm to 9pm.

Frewsburg School District

• $16.73 million budget
• Three candidates running for three seats: John Spacht, Polly Hanson, Randall Wiltsie
• Transportation proposition to borrow $232,800
• Capitol Improvement proposition: Establish a 10 year capitol improvement reserve fund not to exceed $3,000,000

Voting at Frewsburg High School from 2 to 8pm.

Bemus Point School District

• $14.03 million budget
• Two candidates running for two seats: Brian Whalen, Barry Swanson
• Transportation proposition to borrow $225,000

Voting at Maple Grove High School from 2 to 8:30pm.

Cassadaga Valley School District

• $20.17 million budget
• One candidate running for one seat: Marcus Clark
• Transportation proposition to borrow $330,000

Voting at Cassadaga Valley High School from 2 to 8pm.

Falconer School District

• $22.38 million budget
• One candidate running for one seat: Jamie Zaranek

Voting at Falconer High School from 2 to 8pm.

Panama School District

• $13.15 million budget
• One candidate running for one seat: Donald Butler

Voting at Panama School from noon to 8pm.

Chautauqua Lake School District

• $22.04 million
• Two candidates running for two seats: Kim Weborg-Benson, Kenneth Shearer

Voting at Chautauqua Lake High School from 7am to 9pm.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections has designed and printed ballots for these school districts and will program and service the Election Day voting machines.  The school district clerk remains the chief election officer for all school elections.  Sample ballots identifying candidates and propositions for all nineteen school districts are available for viewing at votechautauqua.com.

Former Jamestown school board member and former board president Joe Pawelski, who still lives in the Jamestown School District, has confirmed to WRFA that a group of residents approached him this week and asked him to run as a write-in candidate. The request comes following the announcement earlier this week that current board member and president Joe DiMaio has decided against seeking a fifth term in office.

Pawelski served on Jamestown School Board for 19 years, and was elected by his peers as president of the board for five consecutive years, from 2003 to 2008. He told WRFA on Friday that even if elected to the board in the upcoming election through the write-in process, he still would need approval from his employer prior to taking a seat on the board. He currently serves as Associate Vice President – Investment Officer at Wells Fargo Advisors in Warren, PA.

There are two seats on the ballot for three-year terms. Four names will appear on the ballot, although DiMaio has said even if he received the highest or second-highest total number of votes, he would decline serving another term on the board. The other three names that will appear on the ballot are current school board member Patrick Slagle along with city residents Jeffrey Yeates and Todd Rushforth.

The district has also already mailed out a postcard with Board of Education candidate information, which people should receive this week in their mail. .

The election will be conducted next Tuesday May 17 from noon to 9 p.m. Voters unsure of their correct polling places can call the District Clerk at 483-4420.

Joe DiMaio

JAMESTOWN – The current president of the Jamestown School Board will retire from the board at the end of the current school year.

Board president Joe DiMaio announced during Tuesday’s Jamestown School Board meeting that he has decided to pull out of this year’s School Board elections. DiMaio been on the Board for twelve years and served as Board President for four.  In announcing his departure, he said he felt the time was right to leave the board.

“After many years of service to the district I love, I have decided to withdraw from the school board elections and say farewell to my friends and colleagues at the end of my current term in June,” DiMaio said. “I’m so pleased with how well things in the District have been going. As I reflected on my options, it just seemed this was a good time to bring this phase of my contributions to a close.”

Though his name will still appear on the May 17 school election ballot, DiMaio has asked that voters not waste a vote on him, because he will decline to serve a fifth term.  There are two seats on the ballot for three-year terms and three candidates are now seeking election. They are: current school board member Patrick Slagle along with city residents Jeffrey Yeates and Todd Rushforth.

The district has also already mailed out a postcard with Board of Education candidate information, which people should receive this week in their mail. DiMaio will be listed on that postcard as a candidate but again, he is asking voters to disregard his name as an option.

The election will be conducted next Tuesday May 17 from noon to 9 p.m. Voters unsure of their correct polling places can call the District Clerk at 483-4420.

Jamestown School board member Dan Johnson (left) will be running for reelection during the May 19 school vote. However, fellow board member Laurel Lucas (right) will not be seeking a fifth term on the board.

JAMESTOWN – Even though the school elections and related budget votes are still nearly two weeks away, it’s already known that the Jamestown School Board will have a new member when the new session begins in July.

Current board member Laurel Lucas will not be seeking another term in office. She was first elected to the board in 2003 and served four consecutive terms. Her current term expires on June 30 and she did not submit a petition to have her name appear on the ballot for the upcoming May 19 vote.

The likely replacement will be Jamestown resident Nina Karbacka, who is one of two candidates who will appear on the ballot. The other candidate is current board member Dan Johnson. Karbacka and Johnson were the only two residents to hand in petitions by the April 29 deadline, which are needed to get a name on the ballot. Only two seats are up for a vote in this year’s election.

Meanwhile, district residents will also have the opportunity to vote on the $77.6M budget that cuts 16 positions and includes a 1.5 percent tax increase. The school will hold a public hearing for the budget on May 12 at 7 p.m. at Percell Middle School. The budget should also be available at the school’s website – jamestownpublicschools.org. Physical copies of the budget can also be reviewed at the school administration building.