ADAMS TWP — Mars School Board accepted the terms of the collective bargaining agreement with the Mars Area Education Support Professionals Association Tuesday night, bringing to a close more than two years of negotiations.

School director Steve Boggs voted against it and Rebecca Brown was absent.

The contract will run from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2020.

The union accepted the board's proposal last week just before the Sept. 1 deadline the board gave in July. If the union did not accept by then, the board said it would subcontract the custodians' positions.

The board's decision did not come without detractors. Several parents spoke during public comment asking the school board to reconsider the agreement that will take away spousal or family health care benefits for employees hired before July 1, 2012.

Employees hired after July 1, 2012 were not eligible for anything other than individual coverage based on the terms of the last contract, said attorney Tom Breth, the district's chief negotiator. The new contract, however, raises the starting wage and gives employees bonuses, he said.

Dayle Ferguson, school board president, thanked Breth for providing context and the association for its time and energy during negotiations.

“With compromise made by both parties, the net outcome is a fair and reasonable deal that benefits our employees, the school district and the taxpayers,” Ferguson said.