Q. What is on the May 19 ballot?

The community will be voting on four items: the 2026-27 School Budget, a proposition to approve the sale of district property on Harrison Street to the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, a proposition for the James Prendergast Library to increase funding by $70,000 annually, and three Board of Education seats for three-year terms to commence in July 2026 expire in June 2029.

Q. How will the proposed 2026-27 JPS Budget affect my taxes?

There is no increase in the School Tax Levy. In fact, the levy is at the same level as it was in 2010-11, which means that JPS has been able to continue the trend of keeping school taxes flat for over a decade.

Q. What are the highlights of the proposed 2026-27 budget?

The proposed budget focuses on academic support, facility upgrades, and student programs while maintaining fiscal responsibility at no increase to the tax levy. Key investments include the addition of 13 full-time positions, including six teaching positions at the middle school level (Persell and Washington) to support core instruction, and four positions to expand arts programming, including two middle school strings teachers, a music/marching band teacher, and a high school art teacher. The budget also strengthens student support services through the addition of specialized classroom and support positions, including an 8:1:1 teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, a 12:1:3:1 teacher at Jefferson Middle School, an integrated co-teaching position at Persell, and occupational and physical therapists. The budget further supports the continued development of the Innovation Center at Rogers through the addition of an assistant principal and secretary to support workforce development programming. It also includes a $100,000 transfer to capital outlay, along with investments in safety and infrastructure, including radio and camera replacements and enhanced security measures at Jamestown High School.

Q. What are the two additional propositions on the ballot?

There are two additional propositions on the ballot this year. Proposition No. 2 authorizes the district to sell property on Harrison Street to the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities. This property is no longer regularly used by the district, and the BPU has expressed interest in purchasing it for infrastructure needs. If approved, proceeds from the sale would be deposited into the district’s general fund to support student programs and services.

The James Prendergast Library is also seeking authorization to increase funding by $70,000 annually (Proposition No. 3). Under NYS Education Law §259, public libraries may place funding requests on a school district ballot. The school district serves only as the voting and tax collection entity — if approved, the funds are raised through the tax levy and passed directly to the library and is not directly affiliated with the JPS budget. The library is funded through a tax district that was approved by voters in 2020. More information is available at prendergastlibrary.org.