The Newark Board of Education on Tuesday night approved a five-year contract with the 6,700-member Newark Teachers Union that includes raises averaging 4.5% a year, boosts starting pay, and gives teachers a say in their curriculum. The board’s 6-0 vote capped a six-hour meeting that ended just before midnight, and was its last official action of the 2023-24 school year. The vote came less than two weeks before the current contract expires on July 31. Board President Hasani Council and member Kanilea Anderson abstained because of family members employed by the district and covered by the contra…