BLAIRSTOWN, N.J., June 7 (AP) — Teachers reached a tentative contract agreement this morning with the North Warren Regional School District, ending a strike that had closed schools for three days.þþAfter working through the night with a mediator, the two sides agreed on a contract about 6:45 a.m., said Karen Joseph, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Education Association, the teachers' union. þþDetails will not be made public until union members have ratified the contract, Ms. Joseph said. A vote could come within several days, and teachers are to return to their classrooms on Monday.þþThe teachers, who have been working without a contract for a year, walked out Wednesday after contract talks fell apart over salaries and health benefits.þþDuring the strike, the teachers twice defied a judge who had ordered them back to work. The judge, Roger F. Mahon of State Superior Court in Flemington, said on Thursday that he would fine the teachers $250 each for each day of the strike, but it could not be determined today whether the fines would be imposed.þþThe strike pushed the last day of school to June 25.þþThe 109 members of the union, who include teachers, secretaries, custodians and school aides, were told about the deal at a breakfast this morning.þþThe district, in Warren County in northwestern New Jersey, serves about 1,000 students at two schools in grades 7 through 12. It covers the townships of Blairstown, Frelinghuysen, Hardwick and Knowlton.þþ
Source: NY Times
