The Los Angeles Unified School District and the union representing its teachers reached a tentative multi-year agreement Tuesday on a new contract that does not include a pay raise.

The district had agreed earlier to fully fund health care benefits, so total compensation will increase, according to Marla Eby, the communications director for United Teachers Los Angeles.

The contract includes "breakthrough agreements'' in "critical areas to improve working and learning conditions,'' Eby said.

Those areas include new protection for safer schools, teacher input on professional development and establishment of a panel on making pay more competitive with other districts, Eby said.

The two sides also reached agreements concerning reassignments of counselors and health and human services professionals, and confidentially involving academic coaches.

Portions of the agreement can be reopened in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, Eby said.

The agreement still needs to be approved by union members and the school board.

"This is a good agreement for bad times,'' A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.