**** Wednesday 7 a.m.: Still no deal. After negotiating until 10:30 last night, the teachers and School Committee still don’t have a contract, according to the Marblehead Education Association.
Educators will be back on the picket lines this morning and bargaining resumes at the high school at 10:30 a.m.
The MEA will join the town’s municipal union in a standout at Abbot Hall at 5:30 p.m. Both groups are working without new contracts
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As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, the School Committee and teachers union were negotiating at Marblehead High School, with a mediator shuttling between the two parties in separate rooms. Interim Superintendent John Robidoux canceled school for Wednesday earlier in the evening.
At 7:30 p.m, about 20 members of the Marblehead Education Association stood outside MHS to provide an update on bargaining.
“We are deeply disappointed that the School Committee directed the superintendent to cancel school this evening at 6 p.m. Canceling school signals management’s plan to drag out bargaining. Snow days, when there’s inclement weather, they cancel school much later.”
Heller continued, “We are still here tonight, we are bargaining in good faith.”
Heller pointed out that the two sides are about $4 million apart on teachers’ salaries over four years, and he argued that the town could use free cash (about $8 million is expected this year) to cover the first year or two.
“We can settle this contract and work on year one and possibly year two, and utilize the funds that the schools and the town have, and then work together to get an override.”
The MEA’s wage increase proposal for teachers is 5% in year one, and 6% each of the next three years, according to Heller. The School Committee is offering a 10.5-12% increase over four years.
Heller said paraprofessionals and tutors are especially underpaid. Some earn less than minimum wage.
“The community needs to ask our School Committee why they want to pay our paraprofessionals and tutors poverty wages and why they’re not willing to meet with us face-to-face and settle this contract tonight.”
The School Committee’s public relations firm released a statement around 9 p.m. that a judge in Essex Superior Court ruled Tuesday that the MEA strike is illegal and ordered the teachers back to work.
The release included an update on two tenative agreements related to the teacher work year and tuition reimbursement.
“Teachers’ work year will consist of 184 days and two training days before school begins, and two additional days that may be scheduled before or during the school year. Students will be scheduled for 185 school days, allowing for five snow days,” according to the release. “We have also increased the collective tuition reimbursement total budget to $39,000 for the current school year, then $50,000 effective July 1, 2025, so teachers who apply for and are approved can receive some reimbursement for continuing their education.”
School Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner wrote, “This is a positive development. We hope to continue this momentum and get our children and teachers back into the classroom. While we are hopeful, there is still much work to be done to finalize contracts.”
The union is also fighting for more parental and bereavement leave (including for miscarriages) and for a say in setting safety protocols in schools.
To read more about the first day of the strike on Tuesday, visit HERE.
People can read the latest documents from the School Committee and union to learn more.
