CHESAPEAKE - Negotiators for the Chesapeake schools and the union that represents its bus drivers have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.

The resolution was reached at a bargaining session with a State Employee Relations Board mediator Thursday.

The tentative three-year agreement calls for workers to get 35-cent-an-hour wage increase that is retroactive to August, when the school year began.

It also includes reopeners so the wage and benefit issue can be revisited in the second and third years of the pact. Bus drivers will also get an average increase of $1.25 an hour for extra trips above and beyond the normal workday.

Ohio Association of Public Schools Employees Field Representative Karen Kuehne said the 13 bus drivers will likely vote on the agreement Tuesday. "I feel confident they will approve it," she said.

Chesapeake School Superintendent Sam Hall said if the union members approve the agreement Tuesday, he will likely call a special board meeting soon after so school officials can give their blessing.

"It went well," Hall said of the bargaining session. "The mediation went smoothly, and I think everyone is ready to put this behind us. We're very happy."

The old contract expired in October.