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

Budget and Finance

2025-26 Budget Vote | Three-Part Budget Summary | Ballot Propositions | Tax Rate Estimate | 2025-26 Budget News and Materials | School Budget Videos | Board Election Results | STAR Program | Form 1095-C | 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.

2025-26 Budget at-a-glance

Approved budget: $75,327,667

Budget change: $3.9 million/5.56%

Tax Levy change: $888,019/1.96%

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. The state dictates which portions of the budget belong in each respective category.

Administrative Component 

– $6,511,388/8.64%

The administrative component of the budget represents district and building oversight along with support services for all areas of operations. It represents 8.64% of the proposed budget and includes the superintendent and district office staff, business operations, 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. By controlling administrative costs, the district is able to dedicate more of its resources directly into the classroom.

Capital Component

-$11,993,526/15.92%

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 15.92% 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.

Program Component

-$56,822,753/75.43%

The proposed program budget reflects the district’s commitment to excellence. The program budget represents 75.43% 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.

Ballot Propositions

Proposition 2: Bus Purchases (approved)

The district will purchase four 65-passenger gasoline buses for $168,228 each and one Micro Bird bus for $109,407 for a total of $782,319. This will keep the district’s bus replacement plan on track, which aims to keep maintenance costs low and provide safe transportation for students.

All school buses must pass a rigorous state inspection that typically occurs twice annually. The district normally replaces its buses when it is no longer cost effective to make the repairs necessary to meet the state’s safety standards.

The state will reimburse the district over a five-year period for approximately 70% of the cost of the new vehicles. The trade-in values will offset a portion of the purchase, and local property taxes will cover the remainder of the cost after transportation aid.

Proposition 3: Funding Community Library of DeWitt & Jamesville (approved)

Jamesville-DeWitt residents approved a proposition to levy and collect a tax in the amount of $1,653,321 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.

Tax Rate Estimate

Tax rates are calculated in August once property values are finalized by town, county, or city assessors in addition to receiving final equalization rates from the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services. The school tax levy is only one portion of the tax rate formula.

The estimated projected tax per $100,000 of assessed home value with basic STAR exemption is $1,287.75, which would be a monthly increase of $2.06 or $24.73 annually.

2025-26 Budget News and Materials

Your School Budget in Action

The Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District uses the annual budget to provide students with a rich curriculum, unique learning opportunities, and critical support services. It also helps employ dedicated staff, maintain buildings/equipment, and more.

Curriculum/Support Services

Courses encourage students to become problem solvers and change creators! Senior Brian Tollar credits classes at J-D Middle School and J-D High School with helping him hone his engineering skills and make a difference.

Instructional/Non-Instructional Budget

A considerable portion of school budgets help employ the district’s dedicated team in and out of the classroom. Non-Instructional staff like bus drivers and attendants make a significant difference in the daily lives of our students. Meet a bus driver who has spent the last decade safely transporting Red Rams of all ages!

Learning Opportunities

Extracurricular activities give students the opportunity to embrace interests and grow. The J-D Middle School Times Newspaper is helping students strengthen their social, writing, and editing skills.

      Board of Education Election Results

      On May 20, district residents elected three candidates to the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Board of Education for three-year terms. Each term will run from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028.

        • Lorianne DeForest (652 votes)
        • Sharon Archer (624 votes)
        • Jing Lei (550 votes)

      The board is made up of nine school district residents whose terms are staggered. Board members are not financially compensated for their service.

      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.

              Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage

              Form 1095-C will no longer be distributed automatically to district employees or retirees and must be requested annually.  For more information and to request Form 1095-C, please click on this link to the OCM BOCES website.