The new contract would raise that limit to 90 percent.

The next contract raised that to a $250,000 minimum a year.

The 36 new contracts, which covered 127,000 workers, raised wages 3.1 percent on average in their first year.

The teachers and administrators had been asking for a four-year contract with 10 percent raises each year.

The wage increases in the contract would raise the Southwest levels to about $168 an hour.

The contract granted raises that averaged 13 percent over two years.

The 2005 teachers' contract raised entry salaries to $42,512 from $39,000, a 9 percent increase.

The new contract raises teachers' pay, which had been among the lowest in the state, to $21,640 at the start by September 1991, from $18,000.

In addition to job security, the new contract will raise pension payments.

The new contract raises average pay to $28 to $29 a day.