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Jamestown school board sets member pay to $0 for 2026–27, approves reserve transfer to support raises
Summary
The Jamestown Public School Board voted 6–2 to set board member compensation at $0 for the 2026–27 school year and adopted a resolution to transfer $208,937.71 from the district's special reserve fund to the general fund to support budgeted needs including negotiated raises.
The Jamestown Public School Board voted to set school board member compensation to $0 for the 2026–27 school year and approved a separate resolution to transfer funds from the district's special reserve fund to the general fund.
During the annual organizational meeting July 20, a motion to suspend board salaries passed by roll call, recorded in the meeting as 6 in favor and 2 opposed. Board members discussed statutory compliance and agreed to refer the compensation item to the finance committee for additional analysis of any unintended consequences.
Superintendent Adam Gaylor described the other major finance action on the agenda: a resolution, citing North Dakota Century Code 57-19-11, authorizing the business manager to transfer $208,937.71 from special reserve funds (fund 2) to the general fund (fund 1) on or before June 2027. "This is something that boards have authority to both maintain a special reserve fund and then to transfer up to 0.5 of that fund," Gaylor said, explaining the transfer was discussed during teacher negotiations as a way to provide one-time startup funding for negotiated raises.
Board members emphasized transparency about how the district uses reserve balances. Board member Aaron Roberts warned that a "no news is good news" approach can make it difficult to assess performance and requested clearer mechanisms for visible feedback in future evaluations and fiscal decisions.
Votes at a glance
- School board compensation (motion to set salaries to $0 for 2026–27): Adopted by roll call vote, recorded as 6 yes, 2 no. (Motion introduced and recorded during the organizational section.) - Resolution to transfer funds from special reserve to general fund ($208,937.71): Adopted. (Resolution read into the record and adopted under finance.) - Transfer of funds for CDL startup at JVCTC: Approved by voice vote; described as a transfer with an amortization schedule to be repaid by the program.
What happens next
Board members asked that the suspension of compensation be reviewed by the finance committee to ensure statutory compliance and to examine possible unintended consequences. The business manager will execute the special reserve transfer on or before the statutory deadline, as permitted by the adopted resolution.
