BREAKING NEWS

Newport-Mesa Unified School District teachers have voted to accept a salary increase over the next three years, ending several tense months in which instructors protested for higher pay while union and district officials negotiated a new contract.

Elizabeth Novack, Newport-Mesa’s assistant superintendent of human relations, and Jim Rogers, the teachers union president, announced Thursday that teachers had approved the proposed salary package, which would provide a combined 19% increase over the next three years as well as a 3% increase in benefits. The Harbor Council PTA, which covers all of Newport-Mesa, counted the ballots on Wednesday.

Rogers said the proposal passed by 62%, with approximately 70% of all Newport-Mesa teachers voting. The school board is set to vote on whether to accept the three-year increase at a special meeting Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The teachers’ union has an ultimate goal of bringing salaries between the mean and the 75th percentile for all unified districts in Orange County. A report in January showed that Newport-Mesa ranked last out of 12 districts.

Rogers, while acknowledging that there was work ahead, said he felt vindicated by the teachers’ vote.

“I’m very happy that we were able to pass this,” he said. “Now our job is to make sure we still move forward and have those goals on the horizon looking at us, and that we reach them sooner rather than later. I think we have a good foundation to do that.”