Norwich - As the contract impasse between Norwich Free Academy and the city public school system continues, NFA officials outlined terms of the contract and the timeline that led to the academy's first uniform contract with its partner towns.

NFA Board of Trustees Chairman Theodore Phillips asked the approximately 20 NFA corporators at a special meeting Wednesday for their help in spreading the word that NFA negotiated in good faith to successfully create a new five-year contract for the towns.

"You're our ambassadors in the community," Phillips said. "We need your help in getting the word out."

Along with the new contract, NFA officials sent a letter to the partner towns committing to no more than a 2.5 percent increase for the first three years of the contract. The Board of Trustees approved a 2.5 percent tuition increase in February for the 2015-16 school year, the first under the new contract.

As of Wednesday, four of the eight NFA partner towns - Bozrah, Preston, Voluntown and Franklin - have signed the five-year agreement that takes effect July 1. Phillips said he hopes all eight towns sign the agreement by the end of March.

But Norwich, which comprises about two-thirds of NFA's total enrollment, has thus far refused to sign the uniform contract that was negotiated through a consortium of the sending towns. Norwich officials disputed the timeline NFA presented and even disputed whether that group represented a formal negotiating team.

The Norwich Board of Education next meets on April 7 and is expected to discuss the NFA contract, board Chairwoman Yvette Jacaruso said.

According to Phillips, NFA mailed the draft agreement to the eight partner towns in May 2014 and asked for input. NFA received a letter from the Norwich school board's attorney asking for more time, and the partner towns in August informed the NFA Board of Trustees that the towns would negotiate as a consortium with Lisbon Board of Education Chairman Randy Baah serving as chairman.

Phillips initially had a two-hour phone conversation with Baah, and said over the months, their discussions included input from Norwich.

But Phillips said when the negotiations concluded in December with a draft master agreement, Norwich responded by sending its own proposed contract to NFA that was "completely unacceptable," Phillips said.

Phillips told the corporators that NFA officials would not negotiate a separate agreement with any partner town that would have financial impacts on the remaining partner districts. Norwich receives a $100 per-student discount on regular and special education tuition - an amount that hasn't changed in decades.

The two parties have not discussed the contract issue directly since then, instead exchanging letters. NFA rejected Norwich's contract and asked the city's Board of Education to sign the uniform contract by the end of March.

Jacaruso, who did not attend Wednesday's corporators' meeting, later said the Norwich board informed NFA officials in July of 2013 that the city wanted to negotiate an agreement and did not receive a response. The board "tried again" in July 2014 and didn't receive a response, she said. Jacaruso called the meetings with the other partner towns informational meetings and said the group was never a coalition.

She said she made it clear that the Norwich Board of Education would have to approve any contract with NFA.

"We still want to meet with them and negotiate," Jacaruso said.

c.bessette@theday.com

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