Marblehead Teachers Strike: School Canceled For 3rd Day Thursday

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Marblehead Public Schools are closed for a third straight day on Thursday after eight hours of state-mandated mediation failed to produce an agreement between the School Committee and Marblehead Education Association on a new contract.

"In order for families to plan child care and make necessary arrangements, the superintendent notified families at 6 p.m. tonight that school will be closed tomorrow due to the illegal strike," the School Committee said in a statement early Wednesday night.

The MEA said earlier in the day that it is setting its sights on a proposition 2 1/2 property tax override as a necessary means to "properly operate the town" as teachers walked the picket lines with classrooms closed for the second straight day on Wednesday.

The MEA planned a rally with other municipal employees' union members at Abbot Hall to protest what they called "an anti-union hiring decision made by the town" and to push Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer and the School Committee to seek a tax override that would fund wage implications of what the MEA is proposing in a new collective bargaining agreement.

• Marblehead Teachers Strike: School Closures 'Deeply Disappointing'

"Refusing to properly invest in Marblehead is not a gift to taxpayers," the MEA said in a statement on Tuesday. "In fact, Kezer and company are hurting our residents who want great schools and services.

"We know Marblehead needs an override to bring revenues up to where they need to be to properly operate the town."

Kezer said on Tuesday that the the town's current proposal to the MEA would already require a property tax override to fund but if that override does not pass — the town has repeatedly voted down general tax override ballot initiatives over the past two decades, including decisively in both 2022 and 2023 — the necessary service cuts would be "manageable."

He said under the latest MEA proposal a $7.5 million override would be required and that its potential lack of passage would "decimate the school system."

• Marblehead Teachers Strike: Union Proposal Called 'Unaffordable' As Strike Looms

"The amount of layoffs and restructuring would have a profound impact on the education system," Kezer said. "So what we're trying to do is find that line, that balance, of an override that the voters would be more willing to accept — that's reasonable — but is not such a level that if it fails we don't have an education system."

The MEA has indicated its belief that this time would be different at the ballot box and that residents would support the larger tax override to "fully fund" the schools and support other town departments and services.

"Educators and other municipal employees show their dedication to this community every day," the MEA said on Wednesday. "We are confident the residents will likewise show their commitment to the quality of life in Marblehead by passing an override we can all support."

• Marblehead Teachers Strike: Proposal Rejections As Tuesday School Closure Looms

Kezer said during Tuesday's news conference that "the blame's not on us" for the closed schools and that the potential cancellation and forfeiture of sports playoff games and other arts performances instead lies with the MEA.

"We did not create this situation," Kezer said. "The union created it by taking an illegal strike."

School Committee Chair Jennifer Schaeffner said late Tuesday night the sides did agree on two bargaining points regarding increased tuition reimbursements and the school calendar, but allowed during the press conference that the sides were still "far apart" on wage proposals.

Schaeffner said on Tuesday that she supports Superintendent John Robidoux's decision to cancel all school activities for "safety" and "equity" reasons during the strike. She said the path to continuing athletic and performance events is "for union members to come back to work and to allow the bargaining members to be relieved of their duties, we would cover their duties with substitutes, and come back to the bargaining table all day and all night until we can come to the contract."

MEA co-President Jonathan Heller on Tuesday night called that offer "a ruse" and said that Kezer and the School Committee are looking to draw out negotiations while pressing the state to impose fines that would "punish" the union by "weaponizing court proceedings."

Public sector union strikes are illegal in Massachusetts with the MEA facing escalating fines and other penalties the longer it continues.

"This is a sign that they are not going to bargain in good faith," Heller said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)