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B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker leaves a news conference in Vancouver on Tuesday. Teachers are set to vote on a tentative contract Thursday.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press

Parents heaved a sigh of relief, students braced for early morning wake-up calls and teachers checked their schedules.

With B.C. teachers set to vote on a tentative contract Thursday, vacant classrooms could be bustling next week for the first time since a full-scale strike began last June, marking the end to a bitter dispute that frayed nerves around the province. The proposed six-year deal follows weeks of rising public anger over a dispute that has kept about 500,000 students out of class after months of fruitless negotiations and after the two sides failed to strike a deal over the summer.

But even as teachers and students head back to class, the provincial government and the teachers' union are likely headed back to court. The two sides are expected to square off in October for the next stage of a court battle that dates back to 2002, when the province brought in legislation that took away teachers' rights to negotiate class size and composition. On the cost front, Education Minister Peter Fassbender said the province would cover costs of the settlement, a relief for school districts that have struggled to balance their budgets in recent years.

(Connect with our B.C. teachers' strike live blog for the latest updates on the strike.)

Details of the deal:

The deal hammered out to end the five-week school strike in B.C. will be voted on by teachers on Thursday. An acceptance means students could be back in their classes by Monday. Some of the details:

Contract length:

Six years, longer than the usual three or four but well short of the 10-year-deal Premier Christy Clark had promised during last year's election campaign.

Wages:

A 7.25-per-cent increase over six years. The contract is retroactive to last year.

Signing bonus:

There is none.

Class composition:

An education fund of $100-million to address special-needs students. The union predicts the money will mean several hundred new unionized teaching positions each year.

Grievances:

A $108-million fund to settle union grievances around class size and composition. Two court rulings have found the B.C. Liberals unconstitutionally stripped teachers of their rights to bargain on those matters, opening the government up to grievances. The fund negotiated in this contract will be available regardless of the ultimate outcome of the court battle.

Prep time:

Elementary school teachers will get extra preparation time as a result of the grievance fund.

Court case:

The government's appeal of the two lower court rulings that concluded it violated teachers rights will continue as scheduled in October. The case is likely to go to the Supreme Court of Canada. The two sides have agreed to a process to address whatever the ultimate court ruling will be.

Upside for teachers:

The strike ends, the union gave up no gains made in previous contracts, and class composition and the grievances are addressed.

Upside for government:

Wage increases are within the range of settlements among other public-sector workers, there is no signing bonus and the savings from the strike mean the government hasn't put a lot of new money forward. The grievance fund also limits the government's potential liability if the court ultimately rules in favour of the teachers.

See why ratification of the deal is not a slam dunk.

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