Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District residents will vote May 16 on a proposed $69.4 million 2023-24 budget that focuses on enhancing educational opportunities and increasing safety while moving forward with the district’s strategic plan. Our four main focus areas of the strategic plan are a culture of wellness; curriculum and programs; diversity, equity and inclusion; and family and community engagement.
Compared to the current school year, the adopted New York state budget includes a historic increase of $2,098,322 in state aid for J-D. After reviewing community input, the district is proposing enhancements to educational programs, safety, and athletics. Highlights would include:
-
- Additional pre-kindergarten classroom: four full day pre-kindergarten classrooms will be fully funded and enrollment numbers at Rothschild Early Childhood Center would increase.
-
- Elementary ELL program at home schools: the Elementary English Language Learner (ELL) program would be available in all three elementary schools. The district would add faculty positions to maintain existing class sizes, meet the needs of ELL and special education students, and enhance instructional practice.
-
- School supplies: each elementary school would provide necessary school supplies for all Pre-K to grade 4 students, eliminating the need for supply lists and ensuring an equitable experience for all students.
-
- Safety related upgrades and support: a security expert would test the procedures and enhancements put in place as the result of a comprehensive district wide security audit. The district also plans to expand surveillance camera coverage, install key fob building access controls, install panic buttons at all five school buildings, and replace exterior doors at the high school.
-
- Cybersecurity protection and technology: the district would strengthen the protection of networks, devices, and data from unauthorized access or illegal use. Improvements to instructional technology infrastructure would also provide students and faculty with better and more reliable access.
-
- JV assistant coach positions: the district would add four junior varsity assistant coach positions. They would support soccer, baseball, and softball teams.
The district’s budget proposal for the 2023-24 school year is $69,434,445. Compared to the 2022-23 school year, the 2023-24 operating budget would increase by 3.93%. Because the district will be taking on new debt as part of its completed building project, which voters approved in 2019, the budget-to-budget increase would be 8.94%. Funding would come from four areas: state aid ($21,663,766), the tax levy ($44,550,015), the fund balance ($796,619), and other revenue ($2,424,045) from such items as sales tax and interest income.
The tax levy is the total amount of money collected from district property owners to support the budget. The proposed tax levy increase is at the district’s state-imposed limit, or cap, which is an increase of 2.96%, compared to the current school year’s tax levy.
Because the proposal is within the district’s tax levy limit, a simple majority of voters would need to approve the budget for it to pass.
The budget hearing is scheduled for May 8 at 7 p.m. You can attend in-person or via Zoom. Links are available on the district website. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 16 at the J-D High School Gymnasium. Absentee and military ballots are available.
You can find more budget-related information including the three-part summary, ballot propositions, and board of education candidates on the Budget and Finance page.