YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – School buses were once again rolling through the streets of Youngstown Monday morning, taking students to school. The teachers strike that lasted 25 days was over, and it was time for some sense of normalcy.

It was busy Monday morning outside Taft Elementary as students walked with parents and grandparents into the school, their first day having been delayed by nearly four weeks.

One grandmother said she was happy to have them back in the classroom again.

“I was glad they got, the teachers got what they wanted, the negotiation and everything, so I was excited,” said Tracy Moyer, who has five grandchildren at Taft.

When asked about attendance on this first day after the teachers strike, Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor said he “didn’t notice any abnormalities.”

In the afternoon, as the buses were taking students home, the school board and teachers union were voting on ratification. Both sides agreed to the contract. There is labor peace in the Youngstown City Schools, at least, for now.

As Youngstown teachers left Monday evening’s ratification meeting, they were dressed in school clothes, not the red Youngstown Education Association T-shirts that had become symbols of their strike.

“It was overwhelmingly in favor of the contract,” said YEA spokesman Jim Courim.

Courim said 99% of the teachers voted in favor.

Earlier, the Youngstown School Board voted unanimously to approve the contract. It was in the same room where last week, there were 300 attendees — on Monday, there were four.

School Board President Tiffany Patterson was pleased with the deal.

“We support it 100% and we’re just happy that the scholars are back in school,” she said.

The teachers were on the picket line for 25 days. Was it worth it?

“Yeah, I think so because we got everything that we wanted,” Courim said.

What they wanted and will now get are a one-year contract, a 3% pay raise and all Academic Distress language removed. In addition, they will be paid for being on strike. Concerning seniority, the union made some concessions.

“But they’re concessions that make sense,” Courim said.

The school board focused on 10 core class areas and a dozen discretionary classes, which can be targeted every year to make the best selection for instructors.

As far as a one-year contract, veteran school board member Brenda Kimble is OK with it.

“The district isn’t as stable as it needs to be. I think, being it’s a one-year contract is good, that way, it gives them time to start on time in March and to work some things out,” she said.

Courim does not anticipate another strike next year.

“No, I don’t think so. I think we have proven that we’re a legitimate force as a union. We’re a force to be reckoned with and the district doesn’t want to have to mess with us again next year,” he said.

But did a lengthy teachers strike hurt the image of the city?

“Yes. I mean, there’s nothing else to say except yes,” Kimble said.

“I think there are people in the community that are frustrated, were frustrated with the strike. But one thing I know about Youngstown is we always come together. We’re a giant family,” Courim said.

If another strike were to be called going forward, a fact finder must be used and each party’s positions made public.