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.

The proposed $79.18 million spending plan includes a tax cut equal to the amount that the tax levy was raised for the current school year year. In addition, there will be no layoffs or elimination of positions – which is the first time the district hasn’t been forced to make cuts since the 2008-09 school year.

In addition to tonight’s budget presentation, voters can also review the budget online at www.jamestownpublicschools.org. Residents without Internet access can review the proposed budget at the Superintendent’s Office at 197 Martin Road during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), as well as at all Jamestown schools’ main offices, and the Prendergast Library.

The 2016-17 School Budget Vote and School Board Elections will be held on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. There are two Board of Education seats, each for a three-year term, on the ballot.  The candidates are current board member and board president Joe DiMaio, current board member Patrick Slagle, city resident Todd Rushforth and city resident Jeffrey Yeates.

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

Four individuals have submitted petitions to run for the two seats that are up for election for this year’s election. The candidates are current board member and board president Joe DiMaio, current board member Patrick Slagle, city resident Todd Rushforth and city resident Jeffrey Yeates.

On May 17 voters will elect two of the four to serve three-year terms on the school board as well as the 2016-17 budget.

All city residents 18 and older are eligible to vote in the election. School district residents registered to vote with the Chautauqua County Board of Elections are also eligible to vote in the school board election.  If a person is not registered to vote, the District Clerk is available to register any eligible voter between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. any weekday through May 10, 2016 in the Administration Building, 197 Martin Road, Jamestown, New York.

Applications are also available for Absentee Voting.  The application forms and instructions may be obtained in the Superintendent’s Office. Any questions about the Board of Education petition process, voter registration or absentee voting applications can be directed to 483-4420.

The 2016-17 Popular Budget will be available for public review in the Superintendent’s Office, 197 Martin Road or on the JPS website (www.jamestownpublicschools.org) under the button on the home page “2016-17 Budget Information” beginning on May 3, 2016.

A budget hearing and meet the candidate forum will also take place on May 10.  The budget and school board vote is May 17.

Earlier this month, school officials announced that three candidates had submitted letters of interest to fill the open Board of Education seat vacated earlier this year by Timothy Thomas. The three candidates are Shelly Leathers, Todd Rushforth and Laurie Whitermore.

Once a replacement has been named, he or she will serve until the next school board election in May 2014. At that time, the seat will be put to a public vote for a three-year term.

Shelly Leathers has experience in both the education and financial fields and currently works at L.J. Stein Insurance Company as an accounting manager. Her children are Jamestown High School graduates.

Todd Rushforth currently works at Tilaro’s Bakery as the Distribution Manager and was employed at Quality Markets warehouse. His children currently attend Jamestown High School and Washington Middle School.

Laurie Whitermore has experience in both the private and public sectors and is currently a school counselor at Dunkirk High School. Her children are Jamestown High School graduates.

The JPS Board of Education established an interview process to select which candidate will be the best fit for the needs of the Board. Tonight’s board meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Board of Education room inside the school administration building on Martin Rd.

Residents in the city of Jamestown have given the thumbs up to the 2013-2014 budget presented by school administration and the board of education. A total of 388 votes were cast for the $73,370,000 budget, with 320 voting in favor of the spending plan and 68 voting against it. In addition, the district’s school bus proposition also passed by a vote of 302 to 79. That will allow the district to lease-to-own several vehicles over a five-year period, at a cost not to exceed $790,000.

Voters also were able to vote for two candidates for the school board’s two open seats. Winning reelection were current school board president Joe DiMaio as well as fellow incumbent Patrick Slagle. DiMaio received a total of 304 votes while Slagle picked up 282. A third candidate, Todd Rushforth, received 118 votes.

All results from yesterday’s vote are unofficial until tonight’s Canvas of Votes.

Residents in the Bemus Point School District voted down the proposed $11.9 million spending plan. According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, the unofficial tally was 227 against the budget and 215 for the budget. The failure of the district’s budget proposal was not a complete surprise, as it had recently received criticism during a public hearing earlier this month. The budget contained a 5.7 percent spending increase of $645,175.

A proposition in the form of a school bus amendment did pass, 251-193.

In Jamestown, residents will be voting on a $73,370,000 school budget with no increase to the tax levy and no layoffs to the current teaching staff, although a dozen positions are being eliminated through attrition. The budget is $1,426,000 lower than the current year’s spending plan.

In addition, residents will vote on a proposition calling for the school district to lease to own several buses and other student transportation vehicles, at a cost not to exceed $790,000. Assistant Superintendent for Administration Dale Weatherlow says the school’s current bus fleet is aging and getting the new vehicles will benefit the school in the long-run.

“I think it’s important to recognize that we do have a large fleet here in Jamestown and we have an aging fleet,” Weatherlow said earlier this month. “It’s just like our home vehicles. You have to replace them after a certain point in time. They go beyond there useful life and they start costing more in repairs and upkeep than they are worth, so we need to start replacing them more aggressively and this proposition will help do that.”

Residents will also vote for two school board seats. Up for re-election are School Board President Joe DiMaio and current board member Patrick Slagle. In addition, Jamestown Resident Todd Rushforth is also running for one of the two seats.

The budget vote, referendum and school board election will be from noon to 9 p.m. and is open to all residents within the Jamestown Public School district. Voting will take place at Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson schools.

The $75,370,000 spending plan calls for no increase to the tax levy, nor does it include any layoffs of teachers. In addition to discussing the 2013-2014 spending plan, the public hearing also covered details on an upcoming referendum for the district to lease-to-own several new student transportation vehicles, at a cost not to exceed $795,000.

Residents will also vote for two school board seats. Up for re-election are School Board President Joe DiMaio and current board member Patrick Slagle. In addition, Jamestown Resident Todd Rushforth is also running for one of the two seats.

The budget vote, referendum and school board election will be on May 21 from noon to 9 p.m. Voting will take place at Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson schools.