SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - South Burlington teachers on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a new contract hammered out by negotiators just hours before a strike was due to start.
The teachers had been scheduled to go on strike Wednesday morning. Negotiations lasted nearly 10 hours before an agreement was reached around 2 a.m. Darren Allen, a spokesman for the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association, said the approval by teachers came Wednesday afternoon.
Details of the agreement reached by the South Burlington Educators’ Association and the city school board won’t be released until after it has been approved by the board, which could come later Wednesday, Allen said.
South Burlington union member Noah Everitt said he was pleased the two sides were able to reach an agreement.
“As we’ve said, reaching an agreement requires compromise on both sides, and, tonight, we and the board were able to find common ground,” Everitt said. “We can now move forward together focusing on what matters most: our students.”
School Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Fitzgerald said in a statement released after the deal was reached that members were pleased to avert a strike.
“With the budget pressures the district is facing, we believe the agreement is in the best interest of the students, the community and the teachers,” she said.
Last month, teachers in neighboring Burlington went on strike for four days before reaching a two-year contract agreement with teachers.
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