TEACHERS could be back at school late this week preparing classrooms for students following a tentative deal reached between the BC Teachers' Federation and school district employers early this morning.
Details have yet to emerge about the deal which, if approved, will end the longest public school strike in B.C. history.
This is the third week public schools have been closed in addition to a closure of approximately two weeks in June.
It's not yet fully known when students might have their first day of classes for the new school year.
Teachers could be voting by tomorrow.
Teachers and their employers had been far apart on wages, benefits as well as deciding the number of students there should be in classes and on specialized instruction.
The latter two issues are the subject on ongoing court action prompted by a provincial legislation more than a decade ago which removed them from items that could be negotiated.
Employer negotiators had been telling teachers they could not expect more money than had been granted to other public sector workers.
The tentative deal was reached with the assistance of veteran mediator Vince Ready who began meeting with the two sides late last week.