Governor Maura Healey has issued a statement regarding the ongoing teacher strikes in Marblehead and Beverly.
“It is unacceptable that students have been out of school for over two weeks. It’s hurting our young people, parents and families above all else. Students need to be back in school on Monday.” Healey issued the statement Saturday afternoon. “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.”
Beverly School Committee Chair Rachael Abell also issued a statement regarding the strikes, as the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations (DLR) issued a fact finding order which would delay a deal getting done.
“As you know, an Essex County Superior Court Judge ordered that if a negotiated deal is not reached by Sunday at 6 p.m., the Committee and the Beverly Teachers Association (BTA) will be required to begin an arduous state-led fact-finding process.” Abell said.
If a fact-finding hearing were to take place, it would likely not occur until December 2, delaying the strike and school even longer. The Beverly School Committee still holds its offer, giving educators “six weeks in district-paid parental leave with access to up to 12 weeks using accrued time or bank and six weeks of family sick leave from accrued time”
The offer also gives their highest paid teachers to make $127,936, and the longest-serving paraprofessionals up to $49,500.
In a recent press release, Beverly Teachers Association (BTA) provided updates regarding their proposals and recent comments made by the School Committee and Mayor.
The BTA has stated that their last settlement proposal would not only give teachers higher raises, but also cost $1 million dollars less for the town.
“After almost two weeks of delays and blocking from the School Committee, the BTA was able to ascertain basic information to calculate the base wage costs themselves. The data shows that the combined cost of the BTA’s last proposed settlements is actually one million dollars ($1,017,548) less than what the School Committee last proposed. In our proposals, members of the BTA end up with a higher final base salary than what the school committee is offering, but at a lower cost for the city of Beverly.”
The BTA is also stating that Beverly Mayor Michael P. Cahill and the Beverly School Committee are trying to go into a fact-finding hearing as a “stall tactic to continue to force the union to rack up fines and break the union’s spirits.”
Both Beverly and Marblehead are holding press conferences tonight for updates.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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