EAST PROVIDENCE — Students will return to school Monday without a new teacher contract in place.

The last contract covering the more than 500 members of the East Providence Education Association expired on Oct. 31, but the union and School Committee have not reached a new pact, with both rejecting the other’s proposal.

The sides also have contrasting views about last week’s decision from arbitrator Michael C. Ryan. The union agreed to abide by Ryan’s proposal, which was nonbinding on financial matters, in a meeting with its members on Monday. The committee rejected it unanimously in a closed meeting Tuesday night.

Ryan called for no increase in the base salaries for the first year (this year) of a new contract and 2- and 3-percent increases in years two and three, respectively. The decision also required teachers to pay part of the cost of their health-insurance coverage. Currently, they don’t contribute anything. The arbitrator said cost-shifting from employer to employee has been a “fact of life for well over a decade” and suggested a gradual increase to 15 percent over a three-year contract — 5 percent in year one, 10 percent in year two and 15 percent in year three. New hires would contribute 15 percent immediately.

The arbitrator also did not rid the city of a buyback clause that gave teachers up to $5,100 for declining city health coverage. He instead suggested reducing it to a flat dollar amount — $1,500 for individual coverage and $3,000 for family coverage — rather than a percentage of premiums.

Among other decisions, Ryan also said the teachers’ work year should be increased from 181 days to 184, for curriculum and professional development. The statewide average is 183.8 days.

“Though we are not happy with every aspect of the award, we note that with respect to the critical economic elements, arbitrator Ryan’s award is comparable to contracts across the state and permits us to put the issue behind us and move on,” Valarie Lawson, the teachers’ union president, said last week when the decision was released.

On Monday, she added, “Let’s hope the School Committee does the same.”

The School Committee, in its proposal however, wanted to scale back the base salaries of its teachers by 5 percent and make educators pay a 35-percent share — 50 percent for new hires — of their health-insurance costs. They also wanted to increase the teachers’ work year by up to 15 days and rid the district of the buyback clause completely.

School Department and city officials who testified before the arbitration panel said the last teachers’ contract was too generous and was unaffordable for East Providence’s already strapped taxpayers. They also said getting concessions from the teachers would be the only way to pay off its growing deficit, which was topping $4.2 million. And the city needs money for crucial school building repairs, they said.

It said the changes could have saved the district $5 million in the first year alone.

“It’s real simple,” committee Chairman Anthony Carcieri said yesterday, “in no way, shape or form can we afford [Ryan’s arbitration decision or anyone’s but their own]. This is not a choice. It’s a necessity. We have no money.”

apina@projo.com