JACKSON TWP — The Seneca Valley School District and the Seneca Valley Education Association have a new 5-year teachers contract.

The school board and the teachers union both approved the agreement on Monday.

School board members Timothy Hester and James Welsh each abstained from voting on the contract citing conflicts of interest.

According to a release from the district, the current teacher contract expires June 30, 2016. The new agreement will run from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2021.

The contract has a health care package that has “significantly higher deductibles, higher co-pays and plan changes for the employee with no additional contributions from the district,” a news release states.

The changes to the plan will have an annual savings of $750,000 to the district and a total savings of $3.75 million over the contract.

The agreement also includes a step movement raise of 1.25 percent and a salary raise of about 3.25 percent. The step movement is an automatic increase based upon years of service.

The teachers agreed to add two work days for increased student instruction and mandated state trainings.

There are 540 part-time and full-time teachers. The district has 7,156 students.

“Prolonged bargaining is costly and can create an environment of divisiveness,” said board President Eric DiTullio. “We’ve met regularly over the past six months to prevent the possibility of labor strife as seen in neighboring districts and across the state.

“We’re pleased that both sides have taken the initiative to work together and come to an early agreement.”

Sharon Bonavoglia, association president and Seneca Valley Middle School teacher, said in the release, “I am pleased that everyone who sat around the negotiations table agreed to a fair and equitable contract for all of our constituents.”