School Admins Take Wage Freeze, Teachers Say No

Wilton's school administrators have agreed to a wage freeze for the upcoming fiscal year, much as town employees did a few weeks ago. The teachers union, however, rejected such a proposal.

Superintendent Dr. Gary Richards announced at Thursday's Board of Education meeting that his own cabinet and the Wilton Association of School Administrators (the administrators union) have agreed to a zero percent wage increase for the coming year. Though the final numbers have not been tallied, Richards estimated the school system may save around $100,000 from such concessions.

"All our administrators have recognized the pressures we're facing and will forgo the wage increase," Richards said. "The reality is that their professional lives and the challenges they will have...will be greater next year as a result of the changes that were made...I think it says a lot about who [they] are and what [they're] all about."

Richards said the school system is still in negotiations with the custodian's bargaining unit, but the Wilton Education Association (the teachers union) rejected the wage freeze proposal outright and said they intend to serve out the remaining portion of their current contract.