Paul Pinto, Principal of Northern Chautauqua Catholic School, addressed the Gowanda Board of Education at a recent meeting.

GOWANDA — Two Gowanda district residents brought an administrator along with them to a recent meeting to ask their home district to make accommodations for their students attending a private school out of town.

Paul Pinto, principal of Northern Chautauqua Catholic School, addressed the Board of Education along with two parents of NCCS students who live in the Gowanda Central School District. Pinto and the parents asked the Board for a resolution to provide public school transportation to students from Gowanda residences to NCCS in Dunkirk.

Students enrolled in private schools out of district are typically required to find their own means of transportation, rather than having that burden fall on the home district they elect not to attend. Accommodations are typically limited to a 15-mile radius. NCCS is beyond the 15-mile mark from Gowanda.

Pinto suggested the parents could pursue a public referendum at a later date in asking the district to find a resolution. Instead, the group chose to address the Board first in hopes of avoiding that process.

“We wanted to start at this level to ask for your support. Hopefully, we can come to some agreement,” Pinto said.

Pinto said he and the parents are open to “unique” solutions, such as a drop off point nearby. The parents suggested utilizing the Dunkirk P-Tech bus route that other Gowanda students utilize, which comes within two miles of the NCCS campus.

“It’s certainly beneficial to us because we’re branching out to a lot of communities. We have students coming to us from various school districts across the county, including Gowanda,” Pinto said.

The Gowanda Central School District is hesitant to drop students off at another location because it does not want to assume liability or be responsible for supervision of students at other sites. The District is also hesitant to make an exception in the specific case of NCCS because it could open the door for many other situations in the future.

“It’s not something we need to make a decision on tonight, but it’s certainly worth further conversation,” said Board of Education President Max Graham.

Pinto thanked Gowanda Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson for being gracious, polite and professional throughout discussions leading up to the group’s public address to the Board of Education.

In other news from the recent meeting, the Board of Education approved the property tax report card pertaining to the 2025-2026 school budget. The proposed budget totals $39,040,816, with a tax levy of $5,423,318. The proposed levy is $144,515 below the tax levy limit. The District is proposing a tax increase of 1.2%.

Enrollment for the Gowanda Central School District is 1,029. The adjusted restricted fund balance of the District in 2025-2026 is estimated at $24,334,813, while the adjusted unrestricted fund balance is estimated at $5,522,723, which accounts for 14.15% of the total budget.

The Gowanda Central School District will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. in the High School Library regarding the proposed budget. The budget vote will be held on Tuesday, May 20 from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. in the Middle School Library.