Still, school committee member Nancy G. Walser said she agreed that Galluccio's presence made a difference.

"It was good to have the permanent [school committee] chair on our team," she said. "There was a sense we were ready to wrap things up."

During the press conference, Galluccio and O'Sullivan said they could not elaborate on specifics of the agreement until the union members ratify the contract and the school committee votes to approve it.

O'Sullivan said CTA leaders would meet today to decide when and where they will hold the ratification vote. He said union bylaws require that the members have five to ten days to look over the contract before deciding whether or not to accept it.

If ratified by the CTA and approved by the school committee, the contract will be in effect for the next two school years and will be retroactive for the current year.

Those familiar with the agreement would not characterize the size of the pay raise in the contract.

A source familiar with the agreement said the contract will include provisions to make sure special needs students are included in regular-education classrooms and to give teachers training in how to teach special needs students. Union leaders had singled out these measures as one of their top priorities.