SOUTH POINT — The South Point Board of Education voted on Monday to implement a three-year contract for certified employees in the school district.

Superintendent Mark Christian said negotiations with the teachers union had been ongoing for five months leading to the vote.

“We had reached a deadlock,” he said, noting that there had been a vote on the matter that had a 50/50 split.

Debi Maynard, labor relations consultant for the Ohio Education Association, said there were three votes for contract ratification, with the first being a 52-52 split on Nov. 10. The union voted again on the same proposal on Nov. 12, with the results being 68-42, the on Dec. 2, with the results being 60-31.

Christian said since they had reached “ultimate impasse,” the decision was made at this week’s regular board meeting to implement the contract.

Christian said employees would receive a 3 percent raise in the first year, and 2 percent in the second and third years.

They would also get a $1,500 bonus in the first year, $500 in the second and longevity bonuses in the third year.

He said there were other changes, such as hiring a bowling coach for the high school and giving $500 to the high school’s yearbook advisor.

He said the compensation for work outside the school day for employees would also go from $20 to $30 an hour.

Maynard said there were also changes made in the starts times for the high and middle schools.

The board met in a special meeting on Friday, where they voted 4-0 for a $1,500bonus for non-certified employees and a pay increase for non-union district employees.

In another matter, the board voted at that meeting to deny an Ohio Association of Public School Employees.

Friday’s meeting, the last for the year, also served as a farewell for longtime board member Jan Keatley, who is retiring.

Keatley led the prayer at the start of the session and, at its close, board president Josh Parker congratulated her.

“I want to thank you for all you’ve done for the district,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from you these past four years.”

Keatley said she had enjoyed her time on the board.

“And I just want to ask you to keep the focus on the kids,” she said. “that’s where it should be.”