Andover School Committee Responds To Teachers Union Remote Plans

ANDOVER, MA — The Andover School Committee called the teachers union's announced plan to begin the school year "working only remotely" an "illegal work stoppage," in a statement released Friday evening.

"Educators have been directed to begin their school year in-person on Monday, August 31," Chairperson Shannon Scully said in the statement. "We continue expect that they will. If the Union instead chooses to engage in an illegal work stoppage, we are prepared to address that through the proper channel."

The Andover teachers union voted to begin the school year working only remotely, it said in a news release Friday afternoon. In a follow-up, the union said they "refuse to enter school buildings until safety is negotiated."

The Andover Education Association held an emergency meeting earlier in the week and voted "to begin the school year by only working remotely while planning continues for a phased in, safe return to in-person learning based on agreed upon community health guidelines," according to their release.

The teachers plan to take a "workplace safety action," where for the first day of school, instead of meeting in the high school, they will "gather outside, maintain physical distancing, and report for work remotely."

The union attributed its decision to "the Superintendent and School Committee’s lack of good-faith bargaining over how to maintain the health and safety of educators and students in the reopening of schools."

According to the school committee's statement, five negotiation sessions have been conducted and a sixth is planned for Tuesday.

"The AEA leadership has expressed a preference for teaching from home, but that decision does not fall to the union," Scully said.

Monday is the scheduled first day of school for teachers. The first day for students is Sept. 16.

The union includes instructional assistants, guidance counselors, secretaries, occupational and physical therapists, social workers, school psychologists, nurses, and classroom teachers.

On Aug. 10, the School Committee voted to begin the school year with a hybrid model where students spend two days per week learning in person.

The committee statement defended the district's safety plans.

"The district’s plan is compliant with DESE’s requirements," it reads. "In fact, we are confident that Andover exceeds these requirements, including in the areas of health and safety."

The union focused on safety in their news release.

‘It is simply not safe at this time for students and staff to be working together in crowded settings inside these buildings,” said union president Matthew Bach in a statement. “Members have decided they will not risk the health and safety of students, staff, or the community by walking into buildings that for decades have been underfunded, understaffed, and poorly maintained while a global pandemic continues to affect Essex County, the state, and our country.”

The union called for "third-party documentation on the safety of school buildings" in their statement.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.