Middleburgh Central School non-teachers Monday turned down a proposed two-year contract that would have frozen most salaries for two years.
Non-teachers voted 27 yes to 36 no to the proposed deal, said Nancy Terrell, the union's chief negotiator.
Ms. Terrell said she was very disappointed by the vote.
There were 34 union members at a meeting to explain the proposed contract but 36 voted against it.
After seeing the proposed 2012-13 budget, some members noted that some employees were getting raises next year, Ms. Terrell said.
In light of the devastation from Hurricane Irene and the financial state of the district, she was hoping members would approve the two-year deal that would have had a zero percent salary increase for two years.
"We're members of the community," she said Tuesday. "Let's step up to the plate and do the right thing."
School board members approved a memorandum of understanding accepting the agreement Wednesday.
The contract with the 75 non-teachers ran out on June 30, 2011.
Ms. Terrell was not sure of the next step.
"We need to try to figure out where to go now," she said.
She said she may step down as the union's chief negotiator noting that new ideas may be needed.
Before the union's vote, Ms. Terrell said the MCS non-teachers, which include secretaries, teacher assistants, custodians, bus drivers and others, are aware of the problems facing the district after Hurricane Irene and they wanted to do something "in good faith" to help the district out.
She noted that about 90 percent of the non-teachers live in the district.
"We're all taxpayers," she said before the vote.
"The employees have been proactive in their desire to assist the community to regain as much normalcy back to our community and most importantly to our school," she wrote in a letter to the school board.
In an effort to speed up negotiations, save the district legal costs "and time better spent working with children and the community," the union proposed a two-year contract running through the end of the 2012-13 school year.
The proposed contract had a zero percent salary increase for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years; step increases for those who are eligible, and a new health care provider. The new health care plan would be cheaper for both the district and the employees, Ms. Terrell said.
The plan was cooperatively sought by the district and the union, she said.