Jamestown School Board President Paul Abbott and JPS Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker (May 21, 2025)
Jamestown Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker has had his contract renewed another five years.
The Jamestown School Board voted on the amended contract at their May 21, 2025 meeting. They had previously amended Whitaker’s contract in 2022 to extend it five years at that time from when it began in June 2020.
Whitaker said Superintendent’s contracts can be re-negotiated at any point, “..as long as both parties are willing. And, so, as I was approaching the end of this contract, I asked if they were interested in reopening, the board said yes, and we came to a conclusion that they were interested in another five years. So, you don’t have to serve the entire time before you negotiate. You can, but you don’t have to.”
Whitaker said his goal is to continue to serve all kids and make constituents proud of the district, “..and all of our students are able to achieve the highest that they can achieve. I want to continue to offer lots of opportunities here in Jamestown. I want Jamestown to be a great place to live and work. And we want to attract folks from other places to come here and to stay here when they get here.”
Board President Paul Abbott said things are going well in the district and the time was right to extend the contract, “We’re poised for a Superintendent who has a plan in place for another five years. So, it’s a very exciting time and a very stable time. Obviously, we went through a phase where we were kind of changing over Superintendents more frequently than we would have liked. But now, I believe he (Dr. Whitaker) will be the longest tenured Superintendent since I came on the board in 2008.”
The new contract will begin July 1, 2025 and end June 30, 2030.
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Sorry but 5 year contract is ridiculous. Board president says “things are going well in the district”? What about student behavior towards teachers and class mates and nothing being done. What about the low rankings grade wise at JHS, ranking as one of lowest schools in WNY? What about lack of recruitment of new teachers and principals resulting in calling back retired personnel and having to pay higher wages. This superintendent should not have received more than a 2 year extension at most.