North Penn teachers ratify 5-year contract

After 19 months of talks and a weeklong strike in April, teachers in the North Penn School District have ratified a five-year contract.

The school board and the teachers union voted Thursday to accept a mediator's proposal. According to the district's website, the 1,000 teachers get no salary increase the first year, followed by increases of 2, 2, 2.25, and 2.5 percent over the remaining four years. The contract expires with the 2013-14 school year.

Teachers struck April 19, but a judge ordered them back a week later to ensure that the district's 12,700 students - the largest enrollment in Montgomery County - would get the state-mandated 180 days of instruction by June 30. - Joseph A. Slobodzian