Quincy school officials pleased with swift contract negotiations - WGEM.com: Quincy News, Weather, Sports, and Radio

A three-year tentative agreement came to fruition at the Quincy School Board office Tuesday evening.

Quincy Federation Co-President Jen Drew said the agreement will allow union members to breath easily.

"The employees aren't going to be distracted, worrying about you know where their contract is, where their next paycheck is coming from, so it's good to have in place." Drew said.

After last school year's negotiations spilled over into January, Board President Sayeed Ali said the overall tone was much more positive this time.

"I think it went well," Ali said. "It was a collaborative effort on both parts. Communication really opened up after our last go around."

Drew agreed, adding that union representatives and the district met frequently at various committees, which allowed them to share their thoughts.

"We were meeting you know behind the scenes between that February and May with several sub committees that Mr. Webb put in place, and that was really able to get our member's voices heard." Drew said.

Ali also said that the increased communication ultimately helped lead to the agreement because both sides were on the same page. 

"When we went into this session we all knew what the numbers were, knew what our limitations were, as far as our finances, and I think that helped a lot." Ali said.

The next step will be for Union members to ratify the agreement, and it could be approved by the school board as early as the July board meeting.