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Middletown council votes to reject Board of Education contract after discussion
Summary
After debate about pay comparators, duty-time definitions and budget implications, the Middletown Common Council voted to reject the Board of Education's labor contract as presented; councilors discussed the impact on recruitment and next steps for budget planning.
The Middlesex Common Council voted on Feb. 10 to reject the proposed contract between the Board of Education and the Middletown Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 381 for July 1, 2025'June 30, 2028.
Councilman Nocera (S3) moved to untable item 3a and then introduced a motion to reject the contract as negotiated. Council members who spoke during discussion raised competing priorities: several framed the contract as a fair compromise to aid recruitment and retention, while others said budget constraints require careful review. Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell (S9) cited the newly enacted Social Security Fairness Act and asked about comparative salary data and how duty time is defined in the proposed contract; Dr. V (S10) and others provided clarifications about tenure-act pension treatment and duty-time definitions.
After discussion the council put the motion to a vote. The presiding official announced that the council recorded a vote rejecting item 3a (the motion as presented). The body discussed next steps, including preparing for the budget process and working with bargaining teams to address outstanding concerns.
What happens next: Council and school-district representatives will factor the council action into upcoming budget deliberations and bargaining; the record shows the council moved the matter back into regular budget and negotiation work rather than adopting the negotiated contract at this time.
