BARTLETT — Bartlett teachers are returning to the classroom without a new contract, and with no hope of a new one until next March.

A contract proposal for this and the next school year was turned down by voters at the annual school district meeting in March, and a petition for a special meeting to bring a new proposal to voters was denied.

“This year is done,” Robin Fall, president of the Bartlett Education Association, said. “The judge denied it.”

That means until at least the 2013-2014 school year, teachers will be working under the terms of the existing contract, which expired at the end of June.

Teachers will, Fall said, “take a deep breath and move forward.”

She said despite the Town Meeting vote, Bartlett residents have “been very supportive.”

“It’s a great atmosphere,” Fall said of the school district where she has taught three decades.

The proposal brought before voters in March 2011 would have increased contracted salary costs $96,397 in the first year, and $96,636 in the second. The secret ballot vote failed with 121 yea, 198 nay.

At the board’s Aug. 15 meeting, Bartlett resident Henry Villaume said the March vote was more a statement on the management of the school system, and not a criticism of teachers.

The contract negotiators went back to the table and ironed out another deal for one year, with a $29,000 increase in salaries. The increase in wages would have gone to newer teachers, according to Carl Nelson, SAU 9 superintendent.

Fall said that the association listened to the concerns of the voters, and in the second proposal reflected an effort to attract and keep new teachers.

The starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree in Bartlett is $28,500. The school district’s beginning teacher salary in 2011-2012 ranked 152nd from the top, according to the state.

But the average salary of the district’s teaching staff, according to the state Department of Education, is over $60,000 a year. The state’s average teacher salary is $53,702.

Fall said the teachers will do their job, and will come back next March with a new contract.

“We’re proud of the kids we send off,” Fall said.

Bartlett students attend Kennett High School in Conway through a 20-year tuition agreement. The Josiah Bartlett Elementary School goes through eighth grade.

Fall said the Bartlett union did not support or discuss, or know about, a recent motion filed by NEA-NH attorney James Allmenlinger asking the court to reconsider, and that it is her understanding that it’s been rescinded.

“The court has made the decision,” Nelson said, “and we’ll probably get a letter to start up negotiations sometime soon.”

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Sara Young-Knox may be reached at syoungknox@newstote.com.