School trustees gave the new Coeur d'Alene teachers contract its final blessing Thursday.

A majority of the five-member board agreed to ratify the terms of the agreement reached last week with the help of a federal mediator. Members of the Coeur d'Alene Education Association, the local teachers union, ratified the contract Monday.

Superintendent Matt Handelman sent an email to all district employees Thursday evening, advising them of the board's decision.

"Hooray! Thanks to everyone for their professionalism and focus during this time of uncertainty!" Handelman wrote.

The agreement was reached a month into the school year, and nearly five months after negotiating teams for the school board and the teachers union began holding collective bargaining sessions.

Both teams agreed to mediation in late August after negotiations stalled.

"I saw it as just another tool to help solve the issues," Handelman said. "Now we can focus more intently on educating students."

The new contract includes a .5 percent base salary increase, no change to the health insurance co-payment amount or the co-insurance responsibility, and a reduction of the district's contribution to the family health insurance premium by 1 percent to 68 percent. It also includes raises for teachers and other certified employees eligible for additional compensation under the state's "steps and lanes" system.

The terms of the agreement will apply to all district employees, not just teachers.

"It was disappointing to feel that we needed the help of a mediator, but we were resolved to reach a mutual agreement," said board chair Christa Hazel.

She said she feels the mediated agreement is a responsible one which meets the best interests of both parties.

The school board's vote to ratify the agreement was not unanimous. Trustees Tom Hamilton and Terri Seymour did not support the mediated contract.

Hamilton told The Press Friday that it was a difficult decision.

"You want to recognize what teachers do, what they contribute, and give them everything they would like to have," Hamilton said. "But the reality is that health care costs are skyrocketing for our district and we cannot continue to absorb the rest of the increases."

The teachers union's last proposal called for a 0.9 percent increase to the salary base, and no change to the benefits package.

The board's final proposal offered no base salary increase, and it called for employees to share the cost of a $500,000 increase in the district's health insurance premium, through higher co-payments and greater co-insurance responsibility.

Prior to this agreement, Hamilton said, 89 percent of the district's budget went to salaries and benefits.

"This year, we're going to be sitting at just under 92 percent, and that's not a place that I'm comfortable with," Hamilton said.

The school district's 2014-15 budget submitted to the Idaho State Department of Education includes a general fund of $64.9 million.

Hamilton said he thinks teachers are largely underpaid and wishes the board could do more to change that.

"But our health care costs have skyrocketed and our revenue hasn't," he said.