Board declines teachers' concession package; MOA fails on 4-3 vote

Trustees debated and ultimately rejected a proposed memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Carmel Central School District and the Carmel Teachers Association (CTA) that administration and union negotiators described as a concession package built to reduce the district's near-term budget gap.

According to administration summaries presented at the March 26 meeting, the CTA's proposal included lowering the first-year salary increase, deferring step increases for six months, forgiving a portion of a district welfare-fund contribution, and modestly increasing employee health-care contributions. Administration characterized the package as yielding roughly $1.9 million in district savings over two years (administration summary presented publicly at the meeting).

Trustees raised two central objections. Several trustees said they could not support extending the master contract by two years and tying future compensation to a consumer-price-index (CPI) mechanism that could raise district costs later. Others said the long-term health-care adjustments were too small compared with projected health-care inflation and that accepting a multi-year extension would forfeit future bargaining leverage.

The board moved the MOA onto the agenda for public action after public and trustee requests. When members voted on a formal resolution to approve the MOA (document dated 03/22/2024) the roll-call recorded: Vice President Crocco: Yes; President Dahl: Yes; Trustee Curzio: No; Trustee Douglas: Yes; Trustee Orser: No; Trustee Paraskeva: No; Trustee Wise: No. The resolution failed (motion not passed).

CTA President Dave Zupan, who addressed the board during the public-comment period, said the association had proposed approximately $2.5M to $3.0M in savings when including retirement incentives and urged trustees to accept the package to avoid deeper cuts. "We took the initiative to approach the district to see if we could help," Zupan said. Trustees responding to the CTA acknowledged the offer but said the board was divided on whether short-term savings justified a multi-year extension under the proposed terms.

No agreement was adopted; trustees asked administration to continue negotiations and to present additional budget scenarios at the upcoming work session.