Students will be back at school Monday in Gloucester, Massachusetts, but class is still cancelled in Beverly and Marblehead after contract negotiations failed in those two North Shore communities over the weekend.
An Essex Superior Court judge had agreed Thursday to waive fines the unions are facing if an agreement could be reached by 6 p.m. Sunday, and there was hope for a few hours amid talks of progress, but word came late Sunday that there was no deal in either town. Now, a third party will take over talks; both districts will begin the Department of Labor's fact-finding process. That's the next step when a state mediator can't help both sides come to an agreement on a contract.
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The chair of the Beverly School Committee said in a statement that she was deeply disappointed to share that they could not reach an agreement with the Beverly Teachers Association Sunday.
"I want to acknowledge how difficult the past three weeks have been for our educators, our community, and, most importantly, our students. The School Committee had hoped that we would be able to reach a deal today, before the state-imposed mediation deadline, to bring our students and educators back to school," Rachael Abell wrote. "With the state-imposed deadline for reaching an agreement now behind us, we now go to the next phase – which is state-ordered fact-finding. The School Committee has voted to begin withholding pay for days not worked. The BTA has said that they plan to flout the order of the judge and not participate in the state fact-finding. That is incredibly disappointing and we hope the educators return to work on Tuesday and join us at state-ordered fact-finding as directed by the court."
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Teachers have said the process takes longer, and students could miss an additional four to six days of school.
"The fact finder would not have her recommendations, which the school committee doesn't even have to abide by, until a week from this Friday," said Julia Brotherton, co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association.
The Marblehead Education Association bargaining team had said Sunday evening that it was continuing to work on reaching an agreement on a new contract with the school committee, noting that the two parties had been exchanging proposals throughout the day.
The MEA said it was committed to reaching an agreement that could reopen Marblehead Public Schools Monday, but that a settlement could not be reached by the state-imposed deadline.
"The MEA continues to demand that the School Committee end its pursuit of legal charges against individual educators related to the strike," a statement read. "The MEA furthermore stresses the importance of reaching an agreement on return-to-work provisions that ensure no educators will be subject to retaliation for participating in the strike."
In Beverly, the chair of the school committee said for two days they have had "an improved, serious and fair offer on the table" for teachers and paraprofessionals that includes "significant wage increases and paid family leave."
Abell and Beverly's superintendent met face-to-face with the Beverly Teachers Association co-presidents Brotherton and Andrea Sherman to work together and discuss the remaining items separating the sides. School committee leaders initially reported they were encouraged but later said the "effort was not fruitful."
"The BTA leadership refused to meet further with us unless we unilaterally accepted their wage proposals, which is $3.3 million higher than the current proposal," Abell said.
Brotherton and Sherman said around 7:30 p.m. that they had sent some counterproposals over to management.
"We're really hoping that those counterproposals will get the job done and that we can open schools tomorrow and be back at work with our students," Brotherton said.
She also noted that the proposal that the BTA has on the table right now costs $1 million less than the proposal that management has given them, but a sticking point appears to be that "management doesn't seem to want to pay paraprofessionals a living wage and we are committed to that."
"We can be here all night and we'd like to be," Sherman said of ongoing bargaining. "Our number one goal is to be back in school as soon as possible, so we will stay until the deal is done if they will stay."
But even speaking face-to-face Sunday night, the teachers and their school committees couldn't get a deal done in time.
"Unfortunately, it is clear to me that the BTA is not seriously considering our offers, will not return to work while mediation is ongoing, and will not move in any significant way from the initial demands they made months ago," Abell said, adding that they have spent more than 200 hours over the past three weeks negotiating in good faith to reach a deal with educators and paraprofessionals that addressed their concerns.
"We continued to dig deep, putting more money on the table than ever before, but were consistently told that our offers were not enough," Abell said. "Our community has been through a lot and, unfortunately, the pain of this illegal strike continues tomorrow...The disruption to students and families is real and we know the students who rely on our schools for so many services are suffering. They need their teachers back to work. They need them to set aside their grievances, their anger and get back to the table to solve this crisis."
Both sides in both towns have continuously pointed fingers at one another, while families and students are caught in the middle. Beverly families held a candlelight vigil Sunday to heal 17 days of darkness.
"I've been hoping that it all ends every night," said Beverly parent and vigil organizer Lauren Benson.
Everyone wants to know, how many more days like this are there ahead of them?
"I really want to see my teachers and friends," said Hannah Elementary School student Winnie Menelli.
"Are we even going back to school this week? I have no clue and I'd love to know," said Beverly High School junior Marissa Picano.
The community also held a bake sale Sunday to help the union pay some of the fines they are facing for the ongoing strike.
"We might make $500 here, that's not even a drop in the bucket," Benson said.
Teacher strikes are illegal in Massachusetts. The strikes have kept thousands of students across the three communities north of Boston at home and will force schools to hold classes during vacations and weekends to meet the required 180 days of classroom learning required by state law — a situation that any snow days could make worse.
Gov. Maura Healey Saturday called it "unacceptable" that students have missed over two weeks of school.
"It's hurting our young people, parents and families above all else. Students need to be back in school on Monday," the governor said. "I have spoken to all parties, and I believe they are at a place where they should be able to reach an agreement this weekend, and they should do so. If they don’t reach that agreement, they should ensure that students can return to the classroom on Monday while these negotiations continue."
Healey reiterated that the parties must continue to negotiate throughout the weekend, saying that she and the lieutenant governor have been and will continue to request updates.
"Our young people need to be back in school," she said.
Kimberley Coelho, a member of the Beverly School Committee, spoke out on social media Saturday saying some of her own colleagues seem more focused on breaking the teachers spirits than finding common ground.
In her Facebook post, Coelho called the process "disgusting," saying in part, "What is abundantly clear is some do not want to settle a contract. Instead, feel more concerned about breaking the union’s spirits and dividing our community. I feel the legal advice of our counsel is wrong and only delays reopening schools.”
