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.

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 (December 6, 2022)

Jamestown Public Schools’ Superintendent is accusing New York State of dragging its feet in resolving a lawsuit over the state under funding poor school districts.

Dr. Kevin Whitaker said the state is trying to “smoke out” the remaining eight districts involved in the Small Cities lawsuit even though they know the funding formula is unjust to poor districts, “They believe that extending through legal means the timeline for which this process will take will cause districts, especially the poorer ones, to run out of money and drop out of the lawsuit. I think it’s despicable and I think they should own up to their fiscal mismanagement over the course of decades and take care of the kids who need it the most.”

The Jamestown School Board voted 5 to 2 on Tuesday to continue paying litigation fees in the amount of $20,000 in the Small Cities lawsuit, also known as Maisto v. New York. Shelly Leathers and Pat Slagle were the two no votes, citing concerns over spending more tax money on a case that doesn’t seem to have a defined end.

The case is currently in the remedy stage after the New York State Appellate Court rejected an appeal by then Governor Andrew Cuomo in August 2021 of the court’s decision. The unanimous decision by the Third Appellate Division in May 2021 overturned Cuomo’s position that education aid to the eight small city school districts, including Jamestown, was constitutionally sufficient.

Whitaker said the districts’ goals are to change state foundation aid formulas so it’s fair for all districts in the state and for the eight small city school districts to be reimbursed for the funds lost over several decades. He said the district should receive $30 to $40 million from the lawsuit that would go specifically toward academic intervention, “It would go to tutoring. It’s essentially money that we need to help catch kids catch up to their grade level peers. [Reporter “These are teachers? Different kind of programs?] Additional teachers, additional supports – It’s all of that. It’s the entire process of assisting kids throughout their learning to close the gaps that exist with poorer communities.”

Whitaker added the state is in arrears for over $100 million for the Jamestown Public Schools District, but he doubts the district will ever see that money. However, a change in formula would provide ongoing support to the district.

The Maisto plaintiffs started the case in 2008 because they believed their districts were not getting enough educational funding/resources to give their students, mainly poor and disadvantaged, what they needed to succeed and that this violated the state constitution.

On the mascot and nickname guidance that the State Education Department is supposed to provide to school districts, Whitaker said he heard the topic is on the agenda for the Regents’ December meeting next week. He said he wasn’t aware if it was just going to be discussed or if there would be any formal action taken on on the guidance.

Jamestown School Board budget workshop

Jamestown Public Schools‘ proposed 2022-23 budget includes hiring 40 additional staff members and no tax levy increase.

District Director of Budgets and Finance Brittnay Spry presented the budget to the board of education at a workshop Tuesday. Total projected revenues come in at $94,030,000; with state aid making up the bulk of that at an anticipated amount of $75,680,000. That state aid amount is $4.8 million more than in the 2021-22 budget.

Jamestown Public Schools Proposed Hiring in 2022-23 Budget

The 40 proposed positions include hiring 15 additional paraprofessionals, 3 social workers, 5 school counselors, 2 Community Navigators, 5 Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA) or Dean of Students, 5 elementary reading teachers, and 5 academic intervention specialist (AIS) teachers. Spry said the total cost of the positions is $2,495,000. While $519,000 of that cost would come from American Rescue Plan or other federal funds, the rest would be funded under the regular budget.

School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said he applied asterisks to 38 of the 40 proposed new budget vote positions, saying they are necessary due to what has happened in schools with the pandemic, “Meaning, that we have a crisis in literacy and reading. We have a crisis in mathematics. And we have extreme social emotional needs that is coming out kind of sideways in behavior related issues.”

Whitaker said adding these positions are a “drop in the bucket” with what the district actually needs, “What I’m hoping down the line, in the future, is that the result of the Maisto case, the Small Cities case, that was won against the state will provide us far greater resources in order to add far more AIS, reading, and support personnel.”

Finance Committee School Board Members Shelly Leathers and Pat Slagle echoed their agreement that more positions are needed in the district with Board member  saying this is part of developing a five to ten year budget plan, “And along with that plan is hiring people to fill the gaps where they’re needed the most. And as Dr. Whitaker has pointed out, there’s some big needs out there right now. And as we fill those needs, as we fill those gaps, hopefully we can taper down over the next five to ten years. But we’re not rushing out to spend all this money in a short time frame. Right now, what we’re trying to do is put together a long-term plan so we can hire these people and keep them on board as long as we need them.”

The school board will vote on budget resolutions at its March 22 meeting with the budget vote coming before the public on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe discusses Small Cities School funding lawsuit with the Jamestown School Board during its Feb. 26 board meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Public Schools district will continue participating in a lawsuit against that state that focuses on more state aid for students.

On Tuesday night the board voted 5 to 2 in favor of spending $35,000 on the Small Cities Schools Lawsuit (Maisto v. New York) for the rest of this calendar year, with board vice president Patrick Slagle along with board member Shelly Leathers voting against it.

The vote comes just a month after a state supreme court judge in Albany – Kimberly A. O’Connor – ruled against the eight small city districts involved in the lawsuit, claiming the state is providing a constitutionally mandated “fair and equitable education” for all students, despite arguments to the contrary by the eight plaintiffs.

Jamestown is one of those eight districts. The seven other small cities districts joining Jamestown are Utica, Poughkeepsie, Mount Vernon, Kingston, Newburgh, Port Jervis and Niagara Falls. Because districts can not directly sue the state, the eight districts are individual members of a group that is paying the legal fees to help the case move forward and each district pays a membership fee to that group.

The January’s State Supreme Court decision will likely be appealed and Tuesday night’s action was required if Jamestown were to continue on with the appeal process, ensuring it would benefit from any final positive outcome in the case.

The issue of providing proper funding to ensure a fair and equitable education for all students has already dragged on for the better half of two decades and Jamestown property tax players have already invested over $300,000 in the legal battle associated with the case.

That was part of the reason Slagle voted against continuing the effort.

“I just think the district has been involved for too long now. We’ve spent too much of the taxpayers’ money chasing after an uncertainty. I think the better approach would be to contact our legislators and look for legislative action, since ultimately any success in the lawsuit and what’s going to spur more money is legislative action. So I think that $35,000 for this year and possible more money for future years could be better spent within the district,” Slagle told WRFA following the meeting.

Prior to the vote Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe gave a presentation on the history of lawsuit and the implications for continuing the case, admitting that while attorneys involved in the lawsuit are optimistic an appeal would be favorable for the district, it would only mean the case would continue to drag on because the state would then likely appeal that decision, forcing the matter to go before New York’s highest court – the Court of Appeals.

Following the meeting, Apthorpe said he didn’t envy the school board for having to make the decision.

“I don’t think its fair to put boards of education in this situation,” Apthorpe said. “This is about taking taxpayer moneys to advocate for constitutional rights of the poor against a government, again funded by taxpayers, opposed to that. So they’re being asked to take a stand using money from a poor school to continue a court case. It’s a true double-edged sword.”

According to Apthorpe, if the state legislature were to provide proper funding totals with the constitutional mandate in mind and by following the enacted foundation aid formula created ten years ago, Jamestown would be getting an additional $8 million in aid for the 2019-20 school year. As it stands, the governor is proposing $49.8 million in general purpose aid for Jamestown next year – up just $711,000 from the current year’s school budget. Apthorpe notes that increase doesn’t even keep up with the current rate of inflation based on the state consumer price index.

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.

Members of the Jamestown School board listen to Finance Director Vern Connors (far left) as he provides details and options to consider for the 2018-19 school budget.

JAMESTOWN – As the Jamestown School Board continues to review and discuss the estimated $85 million 2018-19 school budget, members are faced with the task of what to do with a multi-million surplus that will carry over from the current school year.

During Wednesday’s school board budget work session,  Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe and Finance Director Vern Connors presented the board with the latest information regarding the current year’s budget, as well as what options to consider for next year’s spending plan, which the board must finalize by the end of April.

The two administrators pointed out that the district is expected to finish the current school year with a $9.9 million in unassigned fund balance money.  Under state law, the district can put up to $3.4 million of that money into a fund balance reserve for next year – which would equal 4 percent of its overall budget. The school board is then left with the decision on how to appropriate the remaining $6.5 million.

The school administration is recommending the school board apply $2.34 million into the district employee retirement reserve fund, to help address possible future financial challenges related to employee retirement contributions to New York State. Another $2 million was recommended to go toward overdue building repairs and infrastructure work that can’t wait until the next capitol project proposal, which is three years away. And another $2 million was suggested to be placed in a newly created Capitol Reserve Fund to cover local taxpayers’ share of future capital projects.  If the board decided to go with that appropriation, a public referendum would have to take place to establish the new capitol reserve fund.

Apthorpe and Connors did not recommend that any of the money be applied toward a property tax reduction for next year. The concern from the school administration is that any decrease in property taxes would impact the district’s property tax cap formula in future years and limit future budget decisions. The school district has not had a tax increase since 2011.

The board will decide on how to appropriate that money at some point in April when it finalizes its 2018-19 budget plan.

WAITING FOR FINAL STATE FUNDING NUMBERS

Meanwhile, the school board continues to wait for the state to finish its budget so school officials know specifically how much state aid the district will be receiving. The state budget is expected to be passed on Thursday and officials re projecting it will cover about 78 percent of total revenue for the school year.

As school officials wait for the final budget numbers to come in, school administrators are recommending the addition of at least eight Full Time Equivalency (FTE) positions and 6 contingency FTE positions for the next year. Additional positions could be added, depending on how much additional state aid the district may receive.

School board member Nina Karbacka noted that she would like to see more of a focus on restoring teaching positions and program, which saw a drastic cuts during the past decade.

Apthorpe said that he and his staff are continuing to review and develop the district’s Success Academy plan and approach to improving student performance. As a result, he said it’s likely the board will act on even more staffing additions in the 2019-2020 school budget.  He said the 2018-19 budget is really more about “getting out of survival mode and entering financial planning mode.”

With the surplus and better financial positioning for next year, both school board members Shelly Leathers and Patrick Slagle lobbied for a slight 1 percent decrease in next year’s tax levy, which is projected to be $14.6 million – the same as the current year.

“We’ve got the surplus and we’re looking at putting $2.3 million in [the employee retirement fund], so I’m just looking at distributing the surplus differently,” Slagle said. “Just brainstorming… but we can just put $2.1 million in there and then we have enough left over for a 1 percent tax get back.”

However, that suggestion didn’t appear to garner enough support from other board members, due to the concerns it would have on future tax cap formulas. Even though it’s doubtful a tax decrease is in the cards, all board members agree that there will be no tax increase for property owners for the eighth consecutive year.

“In the years it was difficult we made difficult decision and in the years things are going better I think we owe it to our students and our goals,” School Board President Paul Abbott said. “I think we should just keep it flat. I’m very committed to the idea that we don’t raise taxes in a year like this, when things are good. And in the years when things are bad, I’m still committed that we don’t raise taxes. Good times and bad, that has been this board’s position. We’re starting to see the positives from that approach and I think with the goals that Dr. Apthorpe has set, we should continue on that course.”

Apthrope and his staff will present their final budget recommendations next month, with the school board then working to finalize the plan so it can be put up for a public vote on Tuesday, May 15. A public hearing on the budget would take place on Tuesday, May 8.