MADISON, Wis. -- Madison Metropolitan School District officials said on Thursday that they will abide by an arbitrator's ruling and reinstate four school athletic directors whose positions were previously eliminated.

Officials said that while the district is retaining its right to appeal the arbitrator's decision, officials want to pursue alternatives to more litigation.

The district's announcement comes two weeks after an arbitrator ruled in favor of the ousted athletic directors and the teachers' union, who protested officials' move to eliminate the positions.

Last year, the school board voted to replace the district's four athletic director positions with two managerial athletic directors. The union officials subsequently filed a grievance.

The arbitrator said that that the school board's action violated the collective bargaining agreement with the union, Madison Teachers Inc. The arbitrator said that all four should be reinstated with back pay and compensation for financial losses.

In Thursday's announcement, officials said that it's unclear if the former athletic directors will accept their old jobs back.

Throughout this year, the district has had two athletic directors instead of four at its high schools. Officials said that the two administrative athletic directors will stay with the district and continue to perform athletic program duties.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.