Legal Notices
SOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the annual meeting and election of the Southwestern Central School District, Chautauqua County, New York, will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, between the hours of 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 2:00-8:00 p.m., prevailing time, in the Southwestern High School Multipurpose Room, located at 600 Hunt Rd., Jamestown, NY 14701, for purposes of voting on the budget for the fiscal year and electing three members of the Board of Education for three-year terms to commence July 1, 2026.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that all candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education shall be nominated by petition. Each petition shall be directed to the District Clerk, shall be signed by at least 25 qualified voters of the District, state the residence of each signer, and state the name and residence of the candidate. Each petition must be filed in the office of the District Clerk between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. not later than the 30th day preceding the annual meeting and election, or on the next succeeding business day; to wit, April 20, 2026.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the voting on the budget and other propositions will consist of voting on the following proposition, as well as other such matters as may be lawfully presented at the meeting:
PROPOSITION NO. 1 – BUDGET
Shall the following resolution be adopted, to wit:
RESOLVED, that the budget for the Southwestern Central School District, Chautauqua County, New York, for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, as presented by the Board of Education, is hereby approved and adopted and the required funds therefor are hereby appropriated, and the necessary real property taxes required shall be raised by a tax on the taxable property in said District to be levied and collected as required by law.
PROPOSITION NO. 2 – SCHOOL BUSES AND RELATED EQUIPMENT
Shall the following resolution be adopted, to wit:
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the Southwestern Central School District, Chautauqua County, New York (the “District”), is hereby authorized to purchase school buses and related equipment for use in the transportation program of the District, including two (2) 66-passenger school buses (at a maximum estimated total cost of $437,626.12), one (1) 35-passenger school bus (at a maximum estimated total cost of $131,858.58), one (1) 60-passenger school bus (at a maximum estimated total cost of $222,447.85), and to expend for all of such buses and related equipment an aggregate sum not to exceed the sum of $791,932.55, being the aforesaid maximum estimated total cost, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be raised by the levy of a tax upon the taxable property of the District and collected in annual installments as provided by Section 416 of the Education Law, and, in anticipation of such tax, bonds or other obligations (including, without limitation, obligations arising under leases, lease/purchase contracts or installment purchase contracts having a term of not more than five years) of the District shall be issued or entered into in accordance with applicable provisions of New York State law.
PROPOSITION NO. 3 – CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, 2026
Shall the following resolution be adopted, to wit:
RESOLVED, that (a) the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the Southwestern Central School District, Chautauqua County, New York (the “District”) is hereby authorized to undertake a “Capital Improvements Project 2026” (the “Project”) consisting of the reconstruction, rehabilitation and renovation, in part, and the construction of improvements and upgrades to various District buildings and facilities (and the sites thereof) to implement various health, safety, accessibility and code compliance measures and various other measures that are included and generally described in (but are not to be limited by) the Project Plan that was referred to in the public notice of the vote on this Proposition, and to expend therefor an amount not to exceed $8,100,000; (b) the Board is authorized to expend or apply toward the Project $850,000 from the District’s Capital Improvement Reserve Fund that was established in May of 2019; (c) the Board is hereby authorized to expend or apply toward the Project $1,150,000 of other available District funds; (d) a tax is hereby voted in an amount not to exceed $6,100,000 to finance the balance of the estimated maximum cost of the Project, such tax to be levied and collected in installments in such years and in such amounts as shall be determined by the Board; (e) in anticipation of such tax, obligations of the District are hereby authorized to be issued in an aggregate principal amount that shall not exceed $6,100,000, and a tax is hereby voted to pay the interest on such obligations as the same shall become due and payable; and (f) New York State Building Aid funds expected to be received by the District are anticipated to offset a substantial part of such costs, and such funds, to the extent received, shall be applied to offset and reduce the amount of taxes herein authorized to be levied.
PROPOSITION NO. 4 – LIBRARY BUDGETS
Shall the following resolution be adopted, to wit:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to Education Law, Section 259, the Board of Education of the Southwestern Central School District is authorized to levy and collect an annual tax, year after year, separate and apart from the annual school district budget, in the amount of $297,000, of which $215,000 shall be paid to the Lakewood Memorial Library for the support and maintenance of that library and $82,000 of which shall be paid to the Hazeltine Public Library for the support and maintenance of that library; with this appropriated amount to be the annual appropriation until thereafter modified by a future vote of the electors of the Southwestern Central School District.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a public hearing for the voters of the District on the 2026-2027 budget will be held on May 12, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., prevailing time, in the Southwestern Board of Education Room, 600 Hunt Rd., Jamestown, NY 14701
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that voting machines will be used to record the vote on the budget, on all propositions, and the election of members of the Board of Education.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Board of Education of this District has adopted Rules for the Use of Voting Machines and the Submission of Questions or Propositions to be Placed Thereon, and printed copies for general distribution in the District are available at the office of the District Clerk located in the District Offices, 600 Hunt Rd, Jamestown, NY 14701.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the election of members of the Board of Education shall be held to fill three at-large vacancies created by the expiring terms of Board members Troy Durnell, Kurt Gustafson, and Richard Hartmann. The candidates receiving the most votes shall begin serving their three-year terms commencing July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2029.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that applications for absentee and early voting ballots may be obtained at the office of the District Clerk between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., prevailing time, except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Completed applications must be received by the District Clerk at least seven (7) days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or on the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter. A list of all persons to whom absentee and early voting ballots shall have been issued will be available in the office of the District Clerk, where it shall be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the District between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., prevailing time, until the day set for voting, except for Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and said list will be available at the polling place for the election.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the District’s Board of Education will have prepared and completed a detailed statement in writing of the amount of money that will be required during the 2026-2027 fiscal year for school purposes, specifying the several purposes and the amount for each. The amount for each purpose estimated necessary for payments to Boards of Cooperative Educational Services shall be shown in full, with no deduction of estimated state aid. The amount of state aid provided and its percentage relationship to the total expenditure shall also be shown. Such statement shall be completed at least seven days before the budget hearing at which it is to be presented, and copies thereof shall be made available, upon request, to residents within the District during the period of 14 days immediately preceding the annual meeting and election, and may be obtained by any resident of the District in the District Office during the hours of 8:00 a.
