HUNTLEY – Both sides in a new District 158 teachers contract praised the three-year agreement, saying it properly compensates teachers while not overburdening the district's finances.

What may have been lost in the hoopla of both sides ratifying the deal this week is the time it took to reach an agreement. Teachers voted down a tentative deal in early September, authorized the union to call a strike in October, and inched toward a strike in November by officially declaring an impasse in negotiations.

Disagreement on compensation is why negotiations went two months beyond the rejection of the first tentative deal, officials from both sides said.