Waterbury board ratifies three-year teachers' contract, cites retention priorities

The Waterbury Board of Education voted Dec. 18 to ratify a successor collective bargaining agreement between the district and the Waterbury Teachers Association covering July 1, 2026, through June 2029.

The contract, summarized to the board by attorney Jessica Ritter of Shipman & Goodwin, calls for an average salary settlement of 12.45 percent over three years and makes no changes to employee insurance, Ritter said. She described the negotiations as "very collegial," and said both sides prioritized teacher recruitment and retention.

Ritter told the board the agreement also contains modest stipend increases for coaches and advisers, changes to department-head pay tied to teaching load, raises to the curriculum-revision rate and contractual hourly rates for summer professional-development work, and non-economic language changes. "We agreed to a 12.45% over 3 years," she said, and added the union recognized the district's limited ability to pay.

The memorandum provided to the board and a redline contract were offered as supporting documents; Ritter said a salary-schedule analysis shows the negotiated settlement cost to the district for each year. She noted the settlement is "below market" compared with a state average she described as in excess of 13 percent over three years.

On work conditions, Ritter said the agreement preserves health insurance language and adds professional time for teachers: half a day of unencumbered, teacher-directed work time, additional prep time for K—5 and K—8 teachers (an extra 15 minutes), and changes intended to improve safety supervision. She said the recess supervision ratio was reduced from one teacher per 100 students to one per 75 students as part of safety-related language.

After Ritter's presentation the board voted to approve the motion to ratify the contract; the chair announced "motion carries." The transcript does not give a roll-call tally in names or numbers.

The contract will be recommended to the board of aldermen for their consideration, per the motion presented to the board. The district provided copies of the memorandum, a redline contract, the Waterbury teachers salary schedule, and comparative state settlement materials as part of the packet supplied to commissioners.

What happens next: the ratification sends the agreement forward for any required municipal approvals; district documents provided to the board list the cost analysis and the full redline changes.