NEWPORT — An efficient negotiation session for Regional School Unit 19 hourly employees paid off Tuesday night when the Board of Directors unanimously approved a new three-year contract.

Board Chairman Dan Costain said that the entire negotiation process only took one evening. “That’s something I hadn’t seen in the nine years I’ve been here (on the board).”

The contract calls for a 1 percent raise for the next two years and a 2 percent increase in the third year, according to Superintendent William P. Braun.

There are also minor adjustments in benefits, but the major changes in the new contract deals with policies and procedures. For example, promotions will be based on merit, rather than tenure. There is clarification in the new pact on when overtime begins. Grievances must now be filed within 24 hours of a complaint, rather than 48. All employees must participate in direct deposit, although Braun said that few workers still receive paper paychecks.

The new pact affects about 190 of the district’s 451 employees. Teachers and bus drivers are covered under different contracts. Both groups are in the second year of a three-year agreement.

Also discussed at Tuesday’s meeting were the two major school construction projects approved by the Maine Department of Education.

After years of being on the state’s waiting list, Nokomis Regional High School and Newport Elementary School were two of six schools placed on the approved projects list, which is described by the agency as “key step in a school construction process that includes evaluating needs, determining solutions, designing, and building.”

Building Committee Chairman Dwayne Littlefield, said that the next step in the process is to reopen talks with neighboring school districts about consolidation. “Whether we agree with it or not, that’s what the state is pushing,” Littlefield said.

Representatives from RSU 19 will meet with their counterparts in School Administrative District 53 (Pittsfield), SAD 4 (Guilford) and AOS 94 (Dexter) sometime in May.

In 2008, SAD 23, which comprises Etna and Dixmont, consolidated with SAD 48 to form RSU 19, adding around 300 students to the 2,200 already in SAD 48. The merger wasn’t considered that controversial since the majority of high school students in Etna and Dixmont already attended Nokomis.

Director Robin Neil questioned whether a negative response from neighboring districts on consolidation “would be held against us.” Braun and Costain both said no.

“We are required to make an effort, but that’s it,” Costain said.

Littlefield added that the state wants the board to interview architects for the project in June and have a site selection by fall, even though construction may not begin for two years or more.

“We’re (the Budget Committee) not taking the summer off, that’s for sure,” Littlefield said.

Braun also announced that Gov. Paul LePage has designated Newport as Capitol for the Day on Thursday, April 26. LePage will hold a public forum at Nokomis from 6 to 7:30 p.m.