Wednesday will be the ninth day without school for students in Newton, Massachusetts, and the matter is getting contentious.
Teachers, city officials and parents on either side of the debate spoke out Tuesday.
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At a Newton City Council news conference, Council President Marc Laredo said its members had "grave concern" over the protracted negotiations "as our community seems to be torn apart."
"This is not good for our teachers, this is not good for our staff, this is not good for families, this is not good for community members as a whole, and, most importantly — most importantly — the people that we care about most, our children, are suffering because they are not in school," Laredo continued.
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"It makes me question whether the union really wants a deal," Newton School Committee Chair Christopher Brezski said at another press conference. "It makes me question what this strike is really about. Is it about Newton's kids and teachers? Is it about money? Or is it about some other bigger agenda, one where our kids are being used as pawns?"
The Newton Teachers Association has repeated calls for more mental health resources, laying out another counter-proposal late Tuesday night after rejecting the school committee's latest offer Tuesday afternoon.
"We want nothing more to be back in the classroom with our students," said Ryan Normandin, a member of the union's negotiations team. "Let us be very, very clear. To go back without these most basic of needs met, means that the current crisis in the Newton Public Schools will continue."
As parents' frustration has grown, two lawsuits have been filed over the strike in the last two days.
Lital Asher-Dotan, who filed one of the lawsuits, said that while she supports the teachers and wants them to get a new contract, her children need to get back to school.
"We want to be heard. I want to be heard. My daughter wants to be heard. We want a judge to see our pain and get this to an end," Asher-Dotan said Monday.
In another suit Tuesday, two parents say their daughter is on an Individualized Education Program and receives special education support four days a week for her learning disability. They claim she is now suffering from emotional distress from her time out of the classroom.
Allison Goldberg, who filed that lawsuit, went so far as to call for the Newton Teacher's Association's president to be arrested at a press conference Tuesday evening.
"I call upon you, Judge [Christopher] Barry-Smith, to uphold the law as your position states and raise the fines against the union for their illegal actions, and/or the arrest of Michael Zilles for criminal contempt of court," Goldberg said.
Parents and residents speaking against the union accused members of holding a pub crawl Wednesday instead of teaching.
Two union representatives confirmed the flyer those parents displayed is accurate, but claimed the event they are holding is not a pub crawl and is not during work hours.
"Tomorrow there are social events scheduled outside of our contractual teaching hours to allow members to process and be together inside, in the warmth, away from the rain, cold, and snow we've experienced over the last 12 days," a spokesperson told NBC10 Boston.
Other parents spoke in support of the teachers union at Horace Mann Elementary School.
"They've working without a contract all year, and now all of the sudden, they're being painted as the bad guy for putting their foot down and wanting to be taken seriously," said parent Jess Champion.
Negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday. The union faces increasing fines and owes $525,000 as of Tuesday night.
