More than 6,000 East St. Louis students are returning to school after a one-month teachers' strike.
District officials and union negotiators struck a tentative deal Friday after a 13-hour bargaining session that lasted until 1:30 a.m.
The four-year contract was quickly endorsed by a majority of the roughly 400 striking teachers as well as the school board and a state-appointed financial oversight panel.
The district has been under state control since 2011 because of its poor performance,
The compromise plan pays a $3,000 bonus in lieu of a raise to all but first-year teachers. New and veteran teachers will receive two more bonus payments totaling $3,000 later this school year.
In return, the new contract extends by eight years the amount of time it takes teachers to reach top scale.
