School started on schedule Tuesday morning after a mutual agreement was reached Monday between the teacher’s association bargaining team and the South Whidbey School District.

Teachers will receive a 5 percent salary increase this year and another 5 percent next year, in addition to a 3 percent cost of living adjustment from the state.

“We are really happy and excited to be in school on the first day of school and very glad we could work this out with the least impact to our families,” said fourth-grade teacher Rachel Kizer.

South Whidbey schools Superintendent Jo Moccia echoed those sentiments, saying district officials were relieved an agreement was reached without delaying the start of the school year.

“The district was really motivated to get kids back in school,” she said.

Eighty-six of the 90 teachers in the district attended Monday night’s South Whidbey Education Association meeting at Langley United Methodist Church, where they voted to ratify the new contract.

The new contract ended a five-day strike by the South Whidbey Education Association, which began after educators overwhelmingly rejected the district’s initial offer of a 1.5 percent salary increase during a general membership meeting.

That was on top of a 3 percent cost of living increase mandated by the state.