By Patrick Tepoorten

At long last, the North Branch school district and its teachers have arrived at a tentative collective bargaining agreement covering the next two years of service. If the contract is ratified by the union on Monday Jan., 16, it will come before the board for approval at a special meeting on Tuesday, Jan., 17, at 7:00 p.m.

If the board approves the two-year deal at that time, it will spare the district the $25 per student fine imposed by the Department of Education for missing the settlement deadline, but only by a matter of hours. In North Branchís case, that fine would have been in excess of $100,000.

According to a press release by the district, the agreement calls for an increase of roughly 2.73 percent in the first year of the contract and an increase of about 2.46 percent in the second year. In addition, the tentative agreement includes changes to medical insurance contributions, severance pay and leave provisions.

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