BEAUFORT, S.C. — Unionized school bus drivers for Beaufort County Schools voted Saturday to accept a contract with First Student, averting a potential strike.

The resolution came two days before the start of the school year, when about 12,000 students would resume riding the bus each day.

Contract negotiations had been underway for several weeks between Teamsters Local 509 and First Student, which runs the district’s pupil transportation system.

“The drivers are going to see some good wage increases and other benefits,” said John Ziegler of First Student. “Out of all of this, it was clear that the overriding interest of both parties was to find a way to get those kids to school.”

First Student manages the district’s fleet of about 130 buses and employs most of the drivers. About a dozen are employed the district.

The contractor primarily uses buses provided by the South Carolina Department of Education, which owns nearly all of the state’s school buses.