GLOUCESTER, Mass. — For the third straight day, classes for all three North Shore district students will be canceled as the teachers union and city officials failed to reach a contract agreement.
District officials in all three towns sent an email home to parents around 6 p.m. that schools across the Gloucester, Marblehead, and Beverly districts will be closed on Thursday, November 14. After-school activities will also be canceled.
All canceled class days will be made up at the end of the school year, similar to that of a snow day.
“Please know that our mediation efforts are ongoing and are starting early every morning and continuing late into the night,” Superintendent Lummis said. “The School Committee is working tirelessly with the state mediator and the union to resolve this contract dispute with urgency so children can return to school as quickly as possible.”
Not only are students missing school, but they’re also missing out on extracurricular activities, so now some parents are stepping in with legal action.
“It’s honestly it’s devastating like it’s heartbreaking, it’s been our lives for the past like 6, 7 months and that just is all gone if that’s just wiped out like that,” said Cole Wales, a senior who plays football at Marblehead High.
These high school seniors are worried about missing their big playoff game Friday, since it’s an opportunity they’ll never have again.
“We worked hard to get to this point and that it’s being taken away from us by an unconscionable decision that we honestly have like no control over, so we’re just trying to control what we can control,” said Crew Monaco, who plays football at Marblehead High.
It’s not just football. Students could be missing big events from a performing art showcase this weekend to a track meet.
“They’re milestone events and we either participate as Marblehead athletes and performers or we’re not allowed to show up, forbidden to show up,” said Jon Wales, a father whose two sons play football at the high school.
Wales not only spoke to the select board Wednesday, but also brought this issue to court to see if they could do anything to allow students to play.
“We’re hoping that Judge Howe issues an emergency injunction that basically overturns this essentially arbitrary and capricious ruling by our superintendent and allows our kids to play, but the clock is ticking,” said Wales.
The Gloucester Teachers Association (GTA) and Beverly Teachers Association (BTA) were fined $50,000, and The Gloucester Association of Educational Paraprofessionals (GAEP) was fined $15,000 after missing the 6 p.m. deadline to return to work, in accordance with an Essex Superior Court judge’s ruling.
Both the Gloucester Teachers Union and Beverly Teachers Union will be fined an additional $10,000 for every day the strike continues and the Gloucester Paraprofessionals Union will be fined an additional $5,000 for each day.
All three parties are pushing for better pay and other benefits.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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