After public demonstrations and threats of a strike, teachers at Ross Local Schools have a new labor contract after the districts school board unanimously approved a tentative agreement.The new, four-year contract, which covers the 150-member Ross Education Association, is longer than the previous, two-year employment agreement, which expired Aug. 31.Ross Schools Superintendent William Rice released a statement soon after the Ross Board of Educations vote and praised teachers for not letting the labor contract dispute impact on their classroom instructional duties.While no contract is perfect, this agreement reflects our efforts to reward our teachers for the essential work they do while keeping our districts long-term stability in focus, said Rice.Our teachers have remained committed to students throughout this process, and I deeply thank them for that.The 2,800-student district in Ross Twp. has for more than a decade been Butler Countys most consistently highly rated, according to Ohios annual report card of public-school systems.Among the issues in dispute was the unions contention that veteran Ross teachers were being relatively shortchanged, compared to other area districts, in their automatic salary step increases as their seniority grew.Ross officials said the contract makes the salary schedule more competitive.REA officials were not immediately available to comment on the new contract.Ross School Board President Greg Young said the nearly year-long negotiations were a necessary step to getting to a joint labor agreement.These types of decisions require time and thoughtful consideration. Our board is elected to represent the full Ross community, and this contract reflects that responsibility. We hope this will be a moment of healing and forward momentum, Young said. ...read more read less