By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – After months of negotiations, it took just one meeting with a federal mediator for District 87 and the Bloomington Education Association to reach tentative agreement on a contract. 

District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly said the school board and teachers union met for eight hours late Thursday to hammer out a deal. 

"(The mediator) certainly was helpful," Reilly said. "I was optimistic going into that meeting and so was the BEA. It took a while, but we were able to make progress and reach an agreement."

BEA President Rich Baldwin agreed that the federal mediator's presence helped, but he suggested it didn't need to take this long.  

"We settled at a point we were discussing in mid-November," Baldwin said. 

The school board is set to vote on the deal at its Feb. 11 meeting. Rank-and-file teachers also have to vote on the contract. Baldwin said the union will likely vote on the pact during the week of Feb, 9.

The contract if for three years, but the terms aren't being disclosed until the agreement is final.

Teachers packed the halls of the District 87 offices when talks with the mediator began on Thursday.

Teachers have been working without a contract since July.  Talks between the two parties began in April. 

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].