BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- The Massena Central School District and Confederated School Employees Association (CSEA) have struck a new three-year deal.

The agreement will take effect July 1 and run through June 30, 2027 after the board of education approved the measure during a special board meeting June 11.

The employees represented by CSEA are currently finishing a previous three-year deal that runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024.

As part of the contract, CSEA represented employees will receive raises of 4.5%, 4% and 4% each year, along with a $1,500 signing bonus once it begins.

Other perks of the deal include the addition of Lunar New Year to the list of legal holidays, along with other floating holidays becoming fixed days off.

Those days include the days after Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with the Monday after spring break, officials say.

Employees represented by CSEA in the district include bus drivers, cleaners, clerical workers, custodians, food service workers, maintenance workers, nurses and teacher aides.

Along with the addition of holidays, medical insurance premium contributions will be increased by 10% by the beginning of the 2026-27 academic year.

Attendance was also a priority with the contract, with employees receiving attendance incentives of $50 per month for every month that they do not use leave credits, according to school officials.

In other action, the school district also reached an agreement with Massena Building Administrators' Association, officials say.

Employees in the MBAA include the transportation director and district administrators.