FITHIAN — Oakwood school district certified and noncertified staff are getting salary increases under a new three-year contract.

The school board voted unanimously to approve the agreement with the Unit 76 Education Association on Monday. The union ratified it last Thursday.

"I think it's very positive that we have a three-year agreement," said Superintendent Keven Forney, who is retiring next June. "We can plan ahead with our finances. And it will give the new superintendent (and board members) a couple of years to get their feet under them before they have to engage in bargaining again."

"I'm very happy that it's done before school starts," added Wesley Miller, the union president and a sixth-grade teacher. "I think (union members) were generally pleased with it. The vote was unanimous with about half of the members voting."

The union represents about 110 certified and noncertified staff. Its old one-year contract expired on June 30.

Under the new deal, which is retroactive to July 1 and runs through June 30, 2014, members will receive a 3.25 percent increase in the first year and 3 percent increases in the second and third years. That puts the base salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree at $29,751 this year, Forney said.

Other highlights include:

- Health insurance: The district will pay up to $585 a month for individual coverage in the first and second years, and up to $605 a month in the third year.

- Retirement incentive: Both certified and Educational Service Professionals must retire as soon as they are eligible to receive the incentive.

If certified staff announce their intention to retire up to three years in advance, they will receive a 6 percent increase those years. They would not be eligible to receive a $2,500 lump sum the year after they retire, allowable in the old contract.

If Educational Service Professionals announce their intention to retire up to two years in advance, they will receive a 6 percent increase those years. They will receive a $500 lump the year after they retire, down from $1,500 in the old contract.

"We've had a retirement incentive since 2007, but we feel it didn't encourage people to retire when they were eligible. We wanted to see a true incentive," Forney said, adding that will save the district money in the long run.

The deadline to announce is May 1. But because the contract was settled two months later, the deadline is being extended to Oct. 15 this year. Also, eligible employees have until Oct. 15 to announce their intention to retire and take advantage of the old incentives.

- Sick leave: Staff with 11 years or more will receive an extra six day, bringing their total to 13. Those with less than 11 remain at 12 sick days. All staff can use up to three of them as personal days, one more than under the old contract.

The two sides negotiated over a two-day period using a compact bargaining model.

"I thought it was a good process," Forney said. "It made us focus. I really think the association came in initially with very reasonable requests. And I think both sides received something of value in the bargaining process."

"It didn't drag negotiations out for weeks and weeks," Miller said, adding members are pleased they can start school without having negotiations hanging over their head or fear of a strike.