The teachers strike in Crystal Lake-based Prairie Grove School District 46 has ended the same day it began.



After their walkout this morning, teachers' representatives spent the day negotiating with district administrators and Friday afternoon announced a tentative agreement to reopen school on Monday.



Details of the new deal haven't yet been released, and formal ratification is expected to come next week.



Officials said the sides came to terms on salaries late Thursday and that the last sticking point was on health benefits.



In an unusual move that came at the behest of parents, the sides had agreed to negotiation openly this afternoon before administrators met privately to consider a union counteroffer.



The two-school Prairie Grove system followed other Chicago-area teachers unions that have gone on strike this fall, including Chicago Public Schools teachers. But Prairie Grove's strike was over the quickest.



Instructors in the far-northwest-suburban district had announced their walkout after six hours of talks with a federal mediator Thursday failed to produce a contract agreement.



The district has about 1,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.



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Twitter: @peternickeas

