Schools remain closed in Beverly, Gloucester and Marblehead as the teachers strike continues. And teachers in two of those communities are now facing court-imposed fines.
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Schools remain closed in three Massachusetts communities as teachers remain on strike.
Classes were out Thursday in Beverly, Gloucester and Marblehead. Students in Marblehead will remain out of class Friday.
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Now, the school districts are taking their fight from the picket line to the courtroom.
It is illegal in Massachusetts to engage in a teacher strike, so all three of the districts have taken their respective teachers unions to court to hold them in contempt for refusing to return to the classroom.
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Teachers unions in all three towns were ordered to pay $50,000 in fines on the first day, with those fines repeating with an increase of $10,000 each day they refuse to be in class.
The fines against Beverly and Gloucester teachers went into effect Wednesday, meaning they were fined an additional $60,000 Thursday. A judge issued a ruling on Marblehead Thursday, meaning a fine of $50,000 was imposed that day.
Teachers in all three districts are looking for better pay, better benefits, paid parental leave and more support for paraprofessionals.
As it relates to Marblehead, teachers and the school committee there have made progress on parts of a new deal. The big hurdle right now continues to be wages.
"The school committee could get us back in school tomorrow if they would come to the table. We have fair packets on the table. All they need to do is say yes and get us back in school," said Sally Shevory, of the Marblehead Education Association.
These strikes are now becoming more contentious. In Gloucester, the school committee has decided to stop paying teachers for every day they don't show up to school. And in Marblehead, it's having an affect on student athletes.
Unlike Gloucester and Beverly, extracurricular activities in Marblehead are on hold until a new deal is reached. That means the school's football team, which is slated to play a quarterfinal football game, would have to forfeit if the strike continues. The same goes for some cross country runners, cheerleaders and the school's robotics team.
Two parents have filed an injunction asking an Essex County Superior Court judge to prevent that from happening.
