Jamesville-Dewitt Central School District > Departments and Services > Budget and Finance

Budget and Finance

2024-25 Budget  | Three-part Budget Summary | Budget News | Budget Development  | STAR Program | Budget Documents

Public schools are among the most significant investments that any community makes collectively. District leaders work to make the most effective use of resources to benefit students, to develop and manage the budget in a responsible and transparent manner and to be accountable to taxpayers.

Each spring, the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Board of Education adopts a proposed budget for the next school year that the community then votes upon.

2024-25 budget at-a-glance

    • Budget: $71,356,980
    • Budget Change: $1,922,535
    • Tax Levy Change: $808,682/1.82%
    • Estimated tax impact on $100,000 home: $25.28 Year/$2.11 Month
    • On May 21, voters approved the budget 751 to 339

Ballot breakdown 

Proposition 1: 2024-25 budget  

Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District residents voted Tuesday, May 21, on a proposed $71,356,980 million spending plan for the 2024-25 school year. Voters approved a $1,922,535 or 2.77% increase in spending over the current year’s budget. 

Funding for the 2024-25 school year will come from four areas: state aid ($21,763,861), tax levy ($45,358,697), fund balance and reserves ($2,070,000), and other revenue from interest income and other miscellaneous sources ($2,164,422). 

The tax levy is the total amount of money collected from district property owners to support the budget. The tax levy increase is at the district’s state-imposed limit, or cap, which is an increase of 1.82%, compared to the current school year’s tax levy. The estimated projected tax per $100,000 of assessed home value with basic STAR exemption is $1,417.76, which would be a monthly increase of $2.11 or $25.28 annually.

Because the proposal was within the district’s tax levy limit, a simple majority of voters was needed to pass the budget. It was approved by voters 751 to 339.

Proposition 2: Bus Purchases 

The district will purchase four new school buses. This will keep the district’s bus replacement plan on track, which aims to keep maintenance costs low and provide safe transportation for students.

The district will buy three 65-passenger 2025 Bluebird buses for $163,223 each and one 48-passenger 2025 Bluebird wheelchair accessible bus for $194,688 for a total of $684,357.

Voters approved the proposed purchases on May 21, 751 yes; 342 no. The state will reimburse the district over a five-year period for approximately 71% of the cost of the new vehicles. 

Proposition 3: Board of Education Student Member

On May 21, voters approved continuing the practice of including a non-voting student member on the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Board of Education.

Proposition 4: Funding Community Library of DeWitt & Jamesville 

On May 21, voters approved the proposition to levy and collect a tax in the amount of $1,612,518 for the Community Library of DeWitt & Jamesville. New York state education law allows libraries to place a funding proposition on school district ballots and requires districts, at the libraries’ requests, to levy and collect taxes for libraries. 

J-D Board of Education Election 

Voters elected the following three candidates to the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Board of Education for three-year terms beginning July 1, 2024.

    • Lynn Cortese (769 votes)
    • Jalal Zoghby (821 votes)
    • Carolyn Scott (158 votes)

      Three-part Budget Summary 

      All New York state public schools are required by law to report their spending in three categories: administrative, capital, and program. This will be shared here and in the district’s annual budget newsletter. 

      Administrative Component: $6,546,000/9%

      The administrative component of the budget represents district and building oversight along with support services for all areas of operations. It represents 9% of the budget and includes the superintendent and district office staff, building principals, clerical employees along with general areas of expenditures such as legal representation, district communications, information technology systems, audit services and various insurance coverages. The administrative component will decrease 0.73% from 2023-24. By controlling administrative costs, the district is able to dedicate more of its resources directly into the classroom.

      Capital Component: $11,699,318/16%

      The capital component of the budget represents the expenses required to operate, maintain and secure district facilities. Other items required to be reported here include debt service and funds transferred to the Capital Fund for work to be performed on district facilities. The capital component represents 16% of the total budget. The capital component also includes funding to enhance security throughout the district, along with preventative maintenance on operating systems including boilers, HVAC, fire alarms and communication systems. The capital component will increase 2.1% from 2023-24. 

      Program Component: $53,111,661/75%

      The program budget reflects the district’s commitment to excellence. The program budget represents 75% of the total budget and includes instructional costs such as teachers and classroom support, pupil support services, co-curricular activities, athletics and the operational cost of transporting students. The budget also maintains all existing programs including art, music, extra-curricular activities like drama clubs, and athletics. Jamesville-DeWitt dedicates maximum resources to classroom instruction and aims to provide an exceptional educational program focused on meeting the needs of the district’s diverse student population.

      Budget News Updates

      Budget Development 

      Below is the Jamesville-DeWitt Board of Education meeting and budget development calendar for the 2023-24 school year. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. in the District Office unless otherwise noted. You can also attend via Zoom.

      November

      • Nov. 13: Regular Meeting (Moses-DeWitt Elementary)
      • Nov. 20: Finance Committee (Review Budget Calendar)

      December

      • Dec. 4: Regular Meeting (Budget Calendar Approval)
      • Dec. 14: Board of Education Retreat 
      • Dec. 18: Regular Meeting (Tecumseh Elementary)

      January

      February

      March

      • March 1: Tax Levy Limit due 
      • March 4: Regular Meeting (Jamesville)(State Aid Update and Instructional Budget)
      • March 11: Finance Committee
      • March 18: Regular Meeting (State Aid Update and Instructional Budget)
      • March 21: Board of Education Retreat
      • March 25: Finance Committee

      April

      • April 1: Regular Meeting (TBD State Aid Update)(Legal Notice of Budget Vote and Propositions)
      • April 4: Public Forum 
      • April 8: Finance Committee 
      • April 17: Regular Meeting (Three-part budget; Adopt Budget & Property Tax Report Card; Nomination petitions due by 5 p.m. on April 22 (April 22 is last day BOE may adopt budget)

      May

      • May 6: Budget Statement w/ attachments made available
      • May 13: Budget Hearing & Regular Meeting
      • May 14: Mail Budget Notice to District Residents
      • May 21: Budget Vote and BOE Election

      June

      • June 3: Regular Meeting

      School Budgets in 60 Seconds

      Watch the video below for a quick overview of how school budgets are developed in New York

              STAR Program

              Homeowners who meet certain eligibility requirements through the New York State School Tax Relief Program (STAR) can have a portion of their home’s assessed value exempt from school property taxes. Learn more about the STAR program.