Camarillo teachers accepted a new labor agreement this week, ending a six-month long impasse with the Pleasant Valley School District.

The two sides started working on a 2007-08 contract in September. By the end of the year, however, negotiations had stalled and a state mediator was brought in.

A tentative agreement was reached early this month, and according to the deal, teachers will get raises from 1 to 3 percent, depending on how long they have worked in the district, as well as a $1,000 increase to their health benefits.

Union president Suzann Zeigler said it isn't everything that teachers wanted, but it was more than the district had offered previously and she was pleased that an agreement had been reached. The deal was approved by an overwhelming majority of district teachers.

On Thursday, Pleasant Valley trustees also signed off on the terms, voting unanimously without any discussion.

The salary increase is the equivalent of an overall 3 percent raise, officials said. Instead of giving all teachers the same increase, however, more of the money was applied to those who have been with the district longer.

That was done to bring all salaries more in line with those in other Ventura County districts, officials said. While a beginning teacher's salary in Pleasant Valley, about $44,000, is comparable with other districts, salaries were less competitive for more experienced teachers. The top of the pay scale in Pleasant Valley was about $70,000 annually, before the raise.

The board approved a similar plan for other Pleasant Valley employees earlier this month. The 3 percent salary increase and $1,000 toward health benefits will cost the district about $1.5 million, said Assistant Superintendent Linda Bekeny.

The salary increase will be retroactive to midyear, which for most employees was Feb. 1. The health benefit increase, which brings the district's contribution from $6,500 to $7,500, will begin in the 2008-09 school year.

This year marked the first time negotiations had reached impasse between the teachers union and district in nearly a decade.

Both sides sat down with a state mediator in early June, but failed to come to agreement. Later, however, district and union officials decided to sit down again, this time without a mediator or attorneys. They met June 13, the day after school let out for the summer break, and four hours later, had reached a consensus.

A letter was sent out to teachers June 20 detailing the tentative deal, and Zeigler said responses came back this week.

Employees are expected to get retroactive pay checks in July.