Both sides have now passed a pact that Wiscasset’s school support staff will work under this year and next.

“Thank God,” School Committee Chairman Steve Smith said April 14, following the committee’s 5-0 vote for the contract. “Two years (of talks) was a long time, but I’m really happy.”

The panel met in an eight-minute, executive session downstairs at the Superintendent of School’s Office on Gardiner Road, then returned upstairs for the vote in open session.

“We’re very pleased that the contract is finally settled and that we can move forward,” Wiscasset Educational Support Association Vice President Cindy Collamore said in a telephone interview hours ahead of the committee’s vote.

The association’s membership passed the proposal March 31 with support from all but one member, Collamore said. Members have been working under a contract that expired in 2014.

Asked to reflect on negotiations, Collamore said: “I think that we worked very well together, both teams. We did go to mediation and we took the best deal they offered us.

“We did feel it was the best of the outcomes for the entire support staff.”

She and Smith said they would not give details on wages, benefits or other parts of the pact until the document is finalized. That’s also when Superintendent of Schools Heather Wilmot has said the contract would be made public.

Collamore described the 50-plus member support staff as professionals, and crucial to Wiscasset schools’ operations.