Two Massachusetts communities reached deals with their striking teachers union Tuesday, ending the last of three teachers strikes in communities north of Boston.
This comes after 12 days of no school in Beverly and 11 days of canceled classes in Marblehead. Neither school committee has released details on when those missed days will be made up – but it will likely be a combination of adding them onto the end of the school year, as well as traditional vacation days.
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Beverly School Committee Chair Rachael Abell said Tuesday that the committee and the Beverly Teachers Association had reached a tentative agreement that would allow students to return to school on Wednesday.
“We deeply regret that their education was negatively impacted by the union’s strike,” Abell said, adding that the agreement includes strong compensation and necessary improvements “that will give our hardworking educators the support they need to perfect their professional practice and, in turn, help our students thrive.”
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The full details of the contracts were not released, but the Beverly Teachers Association said over the course of the three-year contracts, paraprofessionals will see their wages rise more than 65%, and teachers at the highest salary step will receive a 16% raise.
That union also touted six weeks of paid parental leave, increased tuition reimbursements, and more support for dysregulated students and the educators working with them.
The Marblehead School Committee and the Marblehead Education Association also announced Tuesday that they had reached tentative agreements and that employees would be returning to work and schools would reopen on Wednesday, which is an early release day for students ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Both the School Committee and the Association recognize the stress and hardship caused to our students and families during the school closures and we are committed to ensuring that the reopening of our schools will be a positive experience for our students and school community,” officials said in a statement.
The Marblehead Education Association said they achieved significant increases in pay for educators that bring them closer to regional standards, safety in classrooms, and progress towards modern parental leave.
But the school committee made it clear that fully funding their new four-year contracts will require Marblehead voters to approve a Prop 2 ½ override.
Classrooms had remained shuttered Friday in Beverly, Gloucester and Marblehead, marking the end of the second full week that teachers had taken to the picket lines.
The Union of Gloucester Educators said in a Facebook post Friday that it had reached a tentative agreement with the Gloucester School Committee for "successor collective bargaining agreements for both the teachers and paraprofessional units.”
The unions voted Nov. 7 to authorize the strikes, which 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.
Teacher strikes are illegal in Massachusetts.
The Beverly Teachers Association had said it is pushing for smaller class sizes in the 4,500-student district, 12 weeks of paid parental leave and a “living wage” for paraprofessionals or teachers assistants whose starting salary is $20,000.
In Gloucester, the union in the 2,800-student district had asked for at least eight weeks of fully paid parental leave. It also wanted significant pay increases for paraprofessionals, safer conditions for students and more prep time for elementary school teachers.
On Nov. 12, judges imposed a fine of $50,000 on the unions in Beverly and Gloucester that they said would increase by $10,000 for every day teachers remained on strike.
Last week, teachers took their protests to the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse. Gov. Maura Healey had said her focus was getting students back into the classroom, urging both parties to reach an agreement as soon as possible for the good of kids, families, educators and staff.
