Classes were back in session Monday for some 29,000 students in the Jersey City (N.J.) district after teachers reached a tentative agreement with district officials to end a strike.
NJ.com reports that the deal on a new contract ended a one-day walkout by the district's 3,100 teachers.
The contract agreement, if approved, would end an eight-month dispute. The nine-member school board and members of the teachers union must ratify the agreement.
"I am very proud of the board trustees who took time away from work and family over the last nine weeks to reach this historic milestone," School Board President Sudhan Thomas says.
The details of the deal have not been disclosed, but Thomas says it includes an agreement on salaries and health care costs.
The deal came after a 13-hour negotiation session Sunday.
"I think we reached a fair and equitable agreement with the district," says Ron Greco, president of the Jersey City Education Association.
Teachers and more than 1,000 other school workers walked off the job Friday to protest high health care costs. It was the first teachers' strike since 1998.
Teachers say Chapter 78, a 2011 New Jersey law that revamped how school workers pay for their health benefits, has resulted in less take-home pay despite salary increases.
