Education

Two North Shore educator strikes persist into new school week

Despite even Governor Maura Healey's urging, students remain out of the classroom in Marblehead and Beverly

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Monday marks 11 days of no school for Beverly – which ties Newton as the longest teachers strike in the state since the 1990’s.

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There's no deal — and no class— once again in two North Shore school districts on Monday as an increasingly contentious round of educator strikes drag on into another week.

Students in Beverly and Marblehead will miss another day of school Monday. In Gloucester, the third community that teachers have been striking in, class will be back in session after a deal was reached on Friday.

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The school committee in Beverly has voted to begin withholding pay from striking educators for the days not worked. There was a state-imposed deadline of 6 p.m. Sunday to begin a fact-finding investigation if a deal to go back to school had not been reached.

Negotiations extended beyond that deadline, but still no deal was reached.

Teachers will see a roughly 14% hike in pay over the course of a 4 year contract while paraprofessionals are getting a raise up to 60%

Marblehead is one day behind and will reach that state-imposed deadline Monday night.

Beverly's teachers' union has vowed not to participate in the Department of Labor Relations fact-finding, because they say a non-binding decision on that wouldn’t come until late next week – and they want this contract settled before that.

“It’s baffling to us why management doesn’t understand that we will not go back until we get a living wage for paraprofessionals," co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association Julia Brotherton said. "They need to hear that. They haven’t heard that for 17 days now, that’s the major sticking point that’s left.”

The city's school committee says the educators "are not interested in settling this contract."

“We desperately need our children in school, and we’re trying to do everything we can except sell our future financially," chair of the Beverly finance subcommittee Lorinda Visnick said.

Despite even Governor Maura Healey's urging, students remain out of the classroom in Marblehead and Beverly.

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