ORANGE — Seven positions were poised to be eliminated in Ralph C. Mahar Regional School’s fiscal year 2026 budget until the teachers union agreed to a change in the insurance deductible amount to save enough money to spare two of those jobs.

Michele Tontodonato, director of finance and operations for the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts, has proposed a 4% budget increase from the current fiscal year and she explained the Mahar Teachers Association’s graciousness helped save roughly $100,000, “which I give my heartfelt thanks for, because that saves two positions.” At last week’s School Committee meeting, she described the 13.61% increase in health insurance costs for active teachers and retirees as “pretty high.”

Chris Bailey, Mahar’s union president, said he and his fellow teachers are grateful they were asked about this solution and they were happy to accommodate.

“Obviously, when you’re facing losses, we try to do what we can,” he told School Committee members. “The association has limited control over budgets, so we appreciate being approached and having a say. I know there’s some other schools out there right now that are complaining about not having a say.”

Tontodonato submitted a preliminary budget summary last month and mentioned Mahar could save $125,208 in the FY26 budget by cutting two full-time positions. That would have resulted in a 6.79% budget increase. But Tontodonato also told School Committee members her office would work to reduce the increase to 4% by cutting additional positions. She clarified this week that, of the five cuts, three will be teaching jobs and two will be non-teaching positions.

At last week’s meeting, Committee Chair Peter Cross thanked Bailey and the union for saving two jobs.

Bailey noted he believes the town has a revenue problem, not a spending problem.

During a public hearing on the proposed budget, Tontodonato mentioned there are currently 76 students using School Choice to attend another school district outside of Mahar (down from 85 last year) and the same number of students are choicing in.

“So I’m hoping our School Choice-in continues to increase and our School Choice-out continues to decrease,” Tontodonato said.

The proposed FY26 budget sits at nearly $16.43 million, up $631,853 from the current fiscal year. According to Tontodonato, a 4.7% increase in the overall special education budget can be attributed to contract rate hikes as well as out-of-district costs. She told School Committee members that 21 students will continue receiving out-of-district programming in FY26.

The proposed $448,901 central office budget is 10.2% lower than the current fiscal year. This decrease is due to a superintendent administrative assistant position being listed on the cost-share agreement between Mahar and Union 73 (Orange and Petersham), and the elimination of part-time clerical role. FY26 will be the first year each district will pay a share of the administrative assistant’s salary.

The School Committee is anticipated to vote on the FY26 budget in April.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.