NATION : Teacher Pacts in Wash., N.Y.

Negotiators in Washington state reached a tentative agreement today in the longest teachers’ strike, and New York City’s 85,000-member union, the nation’s largest, averted a walkout just hours after its contract expired.

In Everett, Wash., negotiators sat down at 1 p.m. Sunday and met through the night with three state mediators until reaching an agreement at 8:30 a.m. today, said Washington Education Assn. spokesman John Cahill.

The proposal was to be brought before teachers in the Mukilteo School District for ratification this afternoon, Cahill said. He declined to release details of the agreement. The Mukilteo strike began Aug. 30 and classes were to start Sept. 5.

In New York, the city and its teachers’ union reached tentative agreement today on a contract that would raise salaries 5.5%, both sides said, bringing starting salaries to $26,375 and senior salaries to $52,750.