Springfield’s public school teachers now have a three-year contract with District 186.

Both sides ratified the deal Monday, with 42 percent of union members participating, and about two-thirds of those voting in favor. The board vote was unanimous.

The contract includes raises of five percent, five percent, and four percent. Starting teachers will earn about $44,000, with benefits pushing that past $49,000. That exceeds terms of a state law that teachers must make no less than $40,000.

Superintendent Jennifer Gill said there are also considerations for in-building security. Teachers have complained during school board meetings that students are beating them up. Gill said security guard jobs will be incentivized, and teachers will receive de-escalation training.

The deal is for the second tentative agreement between the two sides. In August, a tentative agreement failed to pass the union vote, with only twenty percent in favor.

The state’s largest public workers’ union, AFSCME, has ratified the contract agreement reached a few weeks ago with the Pritzker administration. Members voted between June 12 and 21.

The four-year deal follows a four-year stalemate in which the union accused then-Gov. Bruce Rauner of walking out of talks early in his tenure.

“The Rauner era was one of hostility to working people and chaos in state government. AFSCME members got through it by standing together and refusing to be bullied,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said in a statement. “Now state employees have a fair contract and, in Gov. Pritzker, an employer who respects their voice and values their work.”