ORANGE — Emotions are running high in the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District as students, teachers and community members are lobbying for the programs and departments they care about with a tight budget on the horizon.
The Mahar School Committee held a virtual meeting via Zoom on Tuesday morning and the video-conferencing platform’s tally indicated at one point more than 100 people were tuned in. Committee members voted to propose a $14,047,493 budget, down from $14,475,493 this year. The school district is comprised of Orange, New Salem, Wendell and Petersham.
Michele A. Tontodonato, the school district’s director of finance and operations, told the Greenfield Recorder that Orange’s assessment is $4,786,345 for fiscal year 2021 — a $336,092 increase from the current fiscal year. She said Orange has 483 children eligible to attend Mahar, making up 78 percent of the school’s student population. Tontodonato said New Salem’s assessment is $691,635 (up from $647,971), Wendell’s is $423,388 (up from $375,418) and Petersham’s is $812,895 (down from $908,306). Tontodonato said these figures are determined by student enrollment and state aid.
She said fiscal year 2021 revenue is down about $800,000. She said the state government has dispensed less financial support in the form of special education funding and transportation and charter school reimbursement.
Mahar also faces the potential elimination of 12 positions, including one non-union worker, according to School Committee Chairman Peter Cross.
Orange has its Annual Town Meeting and a special town meeting slated for 6 p.m. on June 15 on Mahar’s football field. There will be approximately 200 chairs set up 6 feet apart from one another and voters will be required to wear masks. The rain date is June 16 at 6 p.m. Petersham’s Annual Town Meeting is set for 7 p.m. on June 29. As of noon on Wednesday, New Salem and Wendell had not finalized their dates.
Anticipation of budget cuts has people advocating for different programs. Guidance counselor Caitlin McKenna chimed in to say cutting fourth-year language classes will mean students applying to elite colleges and universities may not have the qualifications to stand out. And cutting sports means fewer kids will have athletics to help steer them away from early drug use or other poor decision-making.
Art teacher Helen Miller took the reins of a letter-writing campaign and has received 53 from students, alumni, parents and community parents expressing what Mahar means to them. She read a few of the letter aloud during the virtual meeting.
“I understand that the reality of our situation means that some teachers will have to be let go. But, let us remember that a teacher is not just a teacher. It’s rare that one of Mahar’s teachers exclusively teaching their subject and doing nothing else,” Thor Mead, who just graduated this month, wrote in his letter.