NORMAL — A union contract for Unit 5 teachers and other certified staff was approved Wednesday after employees had worked without a contract for almost three months.

Unit Five Education Association members approved the deal  Nov. 4, capping a long negotiating process that included the rejection of a tentative agreement in June.

The new two-year agreement raises the base salary for teachers 2.3 percent in each year of the contract. It replaces a four-year contract that expired Aug. 17.

Union members approved the tentative contract Nov. 4. The agreement affects 900 certified staff members, including nurses, school psychologists, social workers, librarians and speech pathologists.

“We’re glad to have this contract settled. We can now continue to focus all our energy and effort on providing an excellent education to the students of Unit 5,” said UFEA president Vickie Mahrt in a joint written statement.

“It is a good contract,” Superintendent Gary Niehaus said at the public meeting. “Negotiations took a little longer than we both wanted,” he said.

Employees will continue to receive board-paid insurance, and an insurance committee will be established.

Currently, the beginning salary for a Unit 5 teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $32,030, and those at the top of the education and experience scale earn $74,288.