Tentative Agreement Reached Between School District, Teachers' Union

The School District of the Chathams' Board of Education and the district's teachers' union, the Association of Chatham Teachers and Secretaries (ACTS), have reached a tentative agreement that would allow the two sides to go into next school year with a contract in place.

Superintendent Jim O'Neill confirmed the "tentative agreement" Monday. He said no details will be made public until it is totally finalized.

"It was a long process, and both sides deserve credit for getting to this point in a difficult economic environment," O'Neill said.

The previous contract expired July 1. O'Neill said last week that the district wanted to come to terms on a new contract by last Friday. The 2010-11 fiscal year began then, and as a result, the first pay period for the 2010-11 school year began for full-time, 12 month employees.

It would have been very difficult for a new agreement to be put into place after then, according to O'Neill, because doing so could have potentially involved rescinding contracts.

The two sides met Friday and hashed out the deal then.