Youngstown settlement clears school reopening

Striking teachers here approved a two-year wage contract that gives them an immediate 9.5 percent wage increase and lets 17,000 students return to class for the first time in two months. The teachers and the school board approved the agreement retroactive to Jan. 1. The last barrier to reopening of classes fell when the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, reached agreement to cover 13 days of wages and fringe benefits the workers lost during the teacher strike.