It appears Jim Thorpe Area School Board could be close to finalizing a contract with the district's teachers.

A vote on approving a tentative agreement was initially put on the agenda at Wednesday's school board meeting.At the beginning of the meeting, board President Dennis McGinley announced the matter would not receive any action.Superintendent Brian J. Gasper said the board hasn't received a final copy of a tentative agreement from the union.The agreement is expected to be ready by the Feb. 9 meeting.McGinley looked at a handful of teachers who attended the meeting and said, "We have a good school system here. Myself personally, I am with you all."He added, "From our cafeteria workers to our custodians to our assistant principals to our principals, I am behind you 100 percent."We are a small community," he said. "We are a close-knit community."We are here for you," McGinley told the staff.He said the board members presently have a "really, really, really tough time," as the board is working on a teachers' contract, custodian contract, cafeteria workers' contract, and Act 93 contract.Board member John Ciavarella followed McGinley's remarks, saying, "I feel pretty much the same way you do.""We will get this hammered through," member Robert Schaninger said.The teachers have been working without a contract since July 1, 2013. The last contract was a five-year pact extending from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2013.Board member Gerald F. Strubinger said, "The contract should have been finalized long ago."McGinley agreed, saying he had wanted it completed by last Thanksgiving.Strubinger said he feels that there should be one teachers' contract for the entire county.He also said that maybe there should be one county school system like there was a number of years ago.One other thing Strubinger proposed was a common curriculum in the area, saying it would help students who transfer from one school district to another.Details of the teachers' contract will not be released until it is approved.