LITTLE COMPTON — The local teachers’ union and the School Committee reached a tentative agreement late yesterday on a contract, according to a union official.

The agreement was reached at the end of a negotiating session at the offices of the state Department of Labor and Training, in Cranston. The session started at 9:30 a.m. and wrapped up at 7 p.m., according to union president Carol Belair.

Before the agreement can go into effect, the 36-member union and the School Committee must both vote to ratify it. Belair said those votes have yet to be scheduled.

“I expect they’ll be fairly soon, but I can’t say when they’ll be,” she said last night.

The School Committee chairman could not be reached for comment last night.

The two sides have agreed not to discuss details of the agreement until it is ratified, according to Belair.

The current three-year contract expires today, two days before the start of school on Tuesday.

In the current contract, teachers received annual raises of 2 percent, 3.8 percent and 4 percent over the last three years, with the top base salary this year set at $65,786.

For the next contract, 24 teachers will be at the top step, while the remaining 12 are eligible for step pay increases as well as annual raises.

The current contract introduced health-insurance premium sharing for the first time. Teachers began paying 5 percent of the premium the first year, 6.5 percent the second year and 10 percent this year.

Yesterday’s meeting was the fifth negotiating session since the union, which is represented by the National Education Association, asked the state for mediation. The state appointed lawyer John J. Harrington to help guide the two sides to a resolution.

Before Wednesday’s meeting, teachers voted to return to work Tuesday even without a contract resolution.

With reports from Journal staff writer Richard Salit.