Teachers with the Auburn Enlarged City School District may receive their first paycheck of the new year just before they leave for the holidays.

Auburn Teachers Association President Sally Jo Widmer and Superintendent J.D. Pabis said the two sides have reached an agreement that will allow the teachers to receive their paycheck that was originally scheduled to be released on Jan. 2, 2008, on Dec. 23 instead.

“We've come to an agreement and we'll review it in the early part of next week with both parties,” Pabis said.

Pabis said the agreement will be in writing on Tuesday, but would not elaborate any further.

The ATA filed a grievance last month after Pabis said a 1962 state Comptroller decision stated that school districts do not have to pay their teachers before they leave for a holiday vacation.

According to a clause in the teachers' current contract, when a payday falls on a vacation, the paycheck is supposed to be released on the last day of school before the break, Widmer said. The practice has only been broken twice in the past 40 years, with the association filing grievances each time.

Widmer previously said the ATA declined a request from the district last May to waive the contract language requiring the payment before the holiday break.

During a second meeting on Nov. 6, the district said the checks would not be issued on Dec. 23.

“We appreciate the board's decision to pay us before the break,” Widmer said. “This agreement means we won't be going to arbitration, which would have been a moot point because this situation would not have been resolved until after the holidays.”