The Warwick school board Tuesday approved a fact-finder's report that forms the basis for a new four-year teachers' contract.

Nearly 40 district teachers gathered outside the district office cheered when they learned the outcome of the vote. The teachers have been without a contract since July 2007.

The school board likely will vote on the proposed contract at its May 20 meeting. On Sunday, Warwick teachers voted to approve the report.

According to school board member Karen Malleus, who also is chairwoman of the committee working on the contract, the proposed agreement calls for annual pay increases of 3.99 percent. It also requires teachers to pay more for health care while requiring their working spouses to pay $1,000 to buy into the health care plan.

The proposed agreement also allows for two, rather than five, full-pay sabbaticals per year and includes changes in the start of the next two school years.

Warwick Education Association association spokeswoman Lucie Brown said teachers will start the day before Labor Day in the 2009-2010 school year and two days before Labor Day in 2011-2012. In both cases, students would start a day after teachers.

A complete description of the fact-finding statement is expected to be posted soon on the district's Web site, www.warwick.k12.pa.us.

According to teachers' union spokeswoman Brown, the 40 teachers at Tuesday's meeting remained outside out of respect for the board, not wishing to create any problems.

"This has been a long, arduous task," Malleus said, adding that there was never any unprofessional behavior and everyone had worked in a cooperative effort.

After contract talks had broken down, the teachers union last month ran a newspaper advertisement criticizing the school board for failing to offer raises that would make Warwick salaries competitive with those in other school districts.

The advertisement, which ran in the April 3 Lititz Record Express and appeared on the Web site lancasteronline.com ( view the ad), said teachers were seeking $180,000 more than the district was willing to provide over the life of the contract.

Malleus said her committee struggled to conceive a contract that would balance the needs of teachers and the taxpayers.

"This has been a very long process, and we appreciate the hard work of everyone involved," Malleus said.