MANCHESTER — City schoolteachers apparently are shutting the door on further discussions with the city on contract concessions and planning to work to elect a Charter Commission more sympathetic to their position on school spending issues.

“We’re scheduled to go into negotiations in a few months anyway, and at this stage of the game we’re preparing for that,” said Ben Dick, president of the Manchester Education Association. “I think we’d be better served preparing to follow the normal time line.”

The MEA was one of a handful of unions that rejected contract concessions, primarily in health care coverage, intended to alleviate pressure on the city budget caused by a voter-approved property tax cap.

Other unions agreed to pay more for their health coverage and in return received a two-year contract extension with 1 percent salary scale increases in each year of the extension, another week of vacation for 20-year employees and some changes in working conditions in individual departments.

The current MEA contract with the city expires June 30. State law and the contract itself set a schedule for negotiations to begin.

“We’re preparing now for the looming deadline,” Dick said.

After rejecting concessions that would have made it possible for laid-off teachers to be re-hired, union officials anticipate a tough time with city negotiators, who may be looking to achieve a contract with the rejected concessions — and more.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if their position was one of regression, but I certainly don’t think that has to be the benchmark that we all operate off of,” Dick said.

The MEA also has its eye on the upcoming election for Charter Commission. Nine residents will be elected to review the city’s plan of government and decide whether to recommend changes.

The role of the Board of School Committee could be a controversial issue for the Charter Commission, and the teachers’ union leadership may endorse some candidates.

Some critics of school spending want the Manchester School District to operate more like a city department, subject to a mayoral budget and override. Others say the Board of School Committee should have the power to set the education portion of the tax rate.

Dick said the union is taking an interest in the Charter Commission election, in which nine people will be elected at-large.

“I’m wary of (the final plan) being subject to an all or nothing vote,” Dick said. “If you put something on there that is perceived as too radical either way, too conservative or too liberal, you run the risk of ruining the entire body of work”

Teachers may instead concentrate on electing Charter Commissioners who would embrace more subtle changes, such as providing a way for voters to override the tax cap.

The union president has been sounding out Charter Commission candidates on their views and expects the leadership to recommend candidates to the rank and file.

In the meantime, the union will prepare for contract talks knowing there will be pressure to cut costs.

Dick said he doesn’t want to be too eager to forecast a difficult negotiation.

“There is also the possibility that what we enter into would be to the benefit of the students, the parents and the city,” he said.