School Board leaders across the province have voted to accept a tentative agreement reached with the province for 55,000 Ontario school support workers.

“After much discussion and deliberation, the school board leadership group has voted to recommend this tentative agreement be sent to our locals to be ratified by our members,” CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn said at a news conference in Mississauga Saturday afternoon.

Hahn said school board leaders have also voted to recommend that members ratify the agreement.

The move drew positive response from Education Minister Laurel Broten.

"I am very pleased that the CUPE tentative agreement has passed this important step of approval,” Broten said in an email to CP24. “I look forward to local ratification votes, set to take place over the coming weeks, until Jan 14th.”

The tentative deal reached last week would affect librarians, educational assistants, custodians, early childhood educators, lunch room supervisors, secretaries and other support workers in the English, French and Catholic systems.

The CUPE vote comes days after the provincial government used Bill 115 to impose new agreements on thousands of teachers across the province.

“We are confident that this agreement is better for our members than what would be imposed by the government,” said Ontario School Board Coordinating Committee Chair Terri Preston.

Hahn said that while members’ needs have been addressed, CUPE has been under enormous pressure to reach a deal in the wake of Bill 115.

"With the looming threat of contracts being imposed by the province, bargaining in this climate of unnecessary chaos only hinders the process,” Hahn said. “But our bargaining committee and our school board sector's leadership believe this agreement deals with issues of importance to CUPE members and supports services in schools in a better way."

The deal must now be ratified by local memberships by January 14.

@Josh_F is on Twitter. Remember for instant breaking news follow @cp24 on Twitter.