Fines pile up as school is canceled again due to teacher strike in 3 Massachusetts communities
GLOUCESTER - Fines are adding up for teachers unions in two Massachusetts communities, as school remains closed in the three communities that are on strike.
$50,000 in fines
If the unions didn't call off the strike Wednesday, a judge ordered the Gloucester and Beverly teachers unions to pay $50,000. The fines go up by $10,000 each day the strike continues. So far, both districts have been missed four days of school. Marblehead has missed three.
"Instead of letting fines pile up, which benefits no one, we urge the union to work with us on finding solutions to the issues that brought us here in the first place, such as salary," said Kathy Clancy of the Gloucester School Committee.
Special needs students struggling
Meanwhile, the missed school days are taking an extra toll on students with special needs.
"Sad, yeah, I miss school," said fourth grader Julian Marceau in Gloucester.
Julian is on an individual education plan and his mother Erica Marceau said he's struggling without structure.
"Everyone's getting dysregulated by the lack of routine, you have working parents," said Marceau. But she said even before the strike, Julian was having trouble getting in-classroom support because of understaffing. "Our in-classroom IEP requirements are not being met because we do not have paras in the classroom."
Marceau said that's why she supports having more funding to keep paraprofessionals, one of the biggest goals for striking teachers."
"We desperately need them in our classrooms," said Marceau. "It's bigger than just the strike. When the strike ends, our schools are still not fully funded."
Beverly teachers file complaint
In Beverly, the teachers union has filed a complaint with the Department of Labor Relations, accusing the school committee of bargaining in bad faith.
"All of that hope evaporated when management sent us a proposal a few hours later that withdrew several items on which we had previously agreed. Almost every night since the strike commenced, the state-appointed mediator dismissed us because of the lack of movement from the School Committee. It's clear to us now that they have no intent to work with us and reopen schools. Are they waiting until the court punishes educators?" said Andrea Sherman, co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association in a statement.
