Marblehead Teachers Strike: MEA Offer Rejected As 'Still Unaffordable'
MARBLEHEAD, MA — The Marblehead School Committee rejected what the Marblehead Education Association called a “major concession” in its contract demands on Wednesday as being “still unaffordable” and requiring a property tax override beyond what residents were likely to approve.
The School Committee also said on Wednesday night that it had filed a petition with the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations for a “strike investigation” against four members of the MEA in an effort to “issue orders for them to call off the strike and return to work.”
The MEA submitted its offer late Tuesday night that it said included $3 million in concessions over four years in hopes of settling the two-week-old strike.
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“What the proposal does achieve is moving teacher compensation in Marblehead closer to the middle of the pack for the North Shore by the end of four years, and moving compensation for paraprofessionals/tutors closer to livable wages,” the MEA said.
MEA co-President Jonathan Heller said in a Tuesday night news conference that the current School Committee proposal would put teachers further behind the cost-of-living and inflation increases by the end of the contract.
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But the School Committee late Wednesday night said that while the offer was “a step in the right direction,” it is “still unaffordable and unsustainable,” and only reduces the proposal by $857,000.
The School Committee previously said the sides were about $5 million apart on contract proposals.
“This was not a ‘Grand Gesture’ as described by the Union,” the School Committee said in its statement. “The committee is dedicated to reaching a sensible, responsible agreement with its teachers to get them and our students back in the classroom as soon as possible.
“Our Committee’s current proposal is fair, equitable, and affordable. It would cost the Town $4.89 million and would already necessitate a $2.2 million property tax override, which the Bargaining Subcommittee members support.”
The School Committee said its proposal would raise the average teacher’s salary to just under $100,00 “for 184 days of work” per year.
“This strike, coordinated among three North Shore communities (including Beverly and Gloucester) by the state teacher’s union, has gone on long enough,” the School Committee said. “We need to get our teachers and students back in the classroom. We remain open to reasonable compromise and will stay at the bargaining table until we reach an agreement.”
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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