Bus drivers in Woodland, Ill., will get their jobs back this fall, thanks to a deal struck by the Lake County Federation of Teachers/AFT.

Under an agreement ratified by the school board earlier in February, more than 90 former drivers whose jobs were outsourced will get $1,000 in damages for every year the district had employed them, and drivers who worked less than a year will get $100 for every month.

Starting pay for drivers will be $15.25 an hour, and those with more than 16 years in the district will earn $21 an hour — overall, slightly more than the drivers were earning from the private contractor. Full-time drivers also will receive retirement and insurance benefits, which they were not getting from the contractor. In addition, seniority and sick leave will be restored.

The Woodland school board voted in 2004 to outsource the bus drivers’ jobs, despite the workers’ offer to cut their top wage by $7 an hour. After the outsourcing, many of the Woodland drivers took lower-paying jobs with the private bus contractor.