BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's a tentative deal that's been more than 12 years in the making as Buffalo public school teachers near what appears to be the end of contract negotiations with the district.
The agreement came down late Sunday night with both sides saying it's a compromise that's been a long time coming. The school board will hold a special meeting Monday afternoon at City Hall to vote on the deal.
If approved, it will then be presented to members of the Buffalo Teachers Federation at a separate meeting Monday night. The group is then expected to vote on those contracts at a later date.
Local leaders say they hope everyone impacted by these negotiations will leave the table happy.
"I was on the board of education over 10 yeas ago when some of these conversations first started," said Darius Pridgen, Buffalo Common Council president. "Now to be this close, this is good, this is really good for the city of Buffalo. It's especially good for the students in the schools and of course the teachers."
"I want to see a contract where everyone has given up something, where our teachers get the raises that they deserve, in a way that's affordable for the residents and the tax payers and the city of Buffalo," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.
The union president says due to the lack of updated contracts, on average, Buffalo teachers now get paid about $20,000 less per year than suburban teachers.
Details of the deal won't be made public until after everyone involved gets to see it.