B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker says the union’s executive committee is recommending that teachers approve the tentative agreement reached early Tuesday morning with the province.

The six-year deal promises several hundred new teaching positions each year to address class sizes, and better health and dental benefits for teachers, Iker said.

“It was a tough series of negotiations in but there are meaningful achievements in this deal for teachers and students,” he told a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

The agreement also includes wage increases that total 7.25 per cent over the contract term.

Related: Read full B.C. Teachers' Federation letter outlining agreement

The contentious article E80, which teachers feared would negate their two B.C. Supreme Court victories regarding class size and composition, was scrapped, and Iker said the tentative deal includes a “mutually-agreed process to address any future court decisions.”

At a separate press conference hours earlier, Premier Christy Clark promised that B.C. won’t have to raise taxes if the agreement is ratified.

Clark provided even fewer hard details than Iker, but confirmed the deal is within the province’s fiscal plan.

“We’ve found a way to give teachers a fair raise, to improve classroom composition, to really make it work for teachers while at the same time making it work for taxpayers,” Clark told reporters at her Vancouver office.

The premier lauded the deal’s six-year term, noting that it’s longer than any previous contract with the province’s teachers.

“That means five years of labour peace,” Clark said. “We’ll have five years in which we sit and talk about the things that really matter, and that’s improving education for children.”

The breakthrough in negotiations came shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday, with much of the credit going to veteran mediator Vince Ready, who flew off to another obligation in Toronto after talks finished.

Administrators anticipate that Monday would be the earliest schools could open, but boards will make their own decisions, likely resulting in a staggered start to the fall term.

Vancouver School Board chairwoman Patti Bacchus said if the contract is approved, the board will launch classes as quickly as possible. Principals have already been making preparations, she said.

"We're fairly well-prepared," Bacchus said, adding many teachers still have to tidy up from June because the strike began two weeks before summer break.

"It's going to be bumpy for sure and people are going to have to be a little bit patient, but I know there's a great desire to get back."

Education Minister Peter Fassbender said the ministry was working with superintendents to make up the lost time, with a special emphasis on ensuring Grade 11 and 12 students' needs will be accommodated. Iker panned the cancellation of professional development days as a route to the remedy.

With files from The Canadian Press