NASHUA – After discussing a new teachers contact behind closed doors for 20 minutes Tuesday night, school board members unanimously approved the new agreement Tuesday after months of negotiation with the Nashua Teachers’ Union.

The proposed contract for the largest employee union in Nashua will now advance to the Board of Aldermen and Mayor Donalee Lozeau.

“There were certainly times when we didn’t agree and there were certainly times when we did,” said Board of Education President Robert Hallowell. “It’s a hard thing to negotiate across the table with your staff.”

Hallowell said he believes the new contract is a suitable agreement, and that it is an improvement from years past.

“It was hard-fought on both sides,” Hallowell said. “We both, I think, made strong points on our behalf. Neither of us is entirely happy, but I think it’s fair.”

The Teacher’s Collective Bargaining Agreement 2013-16 says teachers will remain on existing salary steps, and each step will increase $1,140. New teachers with less than a year’s experience will remain at their current salary, according to the agreement.

Four new steps are added to the teacher salary scale between Steps 5 and 9; two new steps are added at the top. Steps would be implemented Oct. 1, 2014. Longevity is eliminated for employees hired on or after Sept. 1, 2014, according to the agreement.

“I think that people need to realize that the teachers do put the students first,” board member Kimberly Muise said. “That’s what this contract says.”

As the contract document was not released publicly before the board meeting, Hallowell said the details of the contract needed to be kept confidential until the agreement had been finalized. He said other unions, such as police commissioners, negotiate their contracts similarly.

“They negotiate a contract between themselves,” he said. “You don’t release it to the public before you actually vote on it. One would argue that’s an unfair labor practice.”

Hallowell said he urges those who have concerns about the new contract to contact the Board of Aldermen or the mayor, and that he stands by the agreement.

“We cleaned up some of the language,” he said. “The costs are higher than some would like but lower than the others would like, and I think there are enough pieces on both sides for this to be a good contract,” he said.

More details on the contract will be available this week in The Telegraph.

Emily Hoyt can be reached at 594-6402 or ehoyt@nashuatelegraph.com.