MARBLEHEAD — After nine full days of Marblehead students and teachers being out of the classroom, the Marblehead School Committee and the Marblehead Education Association (MEA) have not yet come to an agreement.

Since the beginning of the strike, two weeks ago, the two parties have made some tentative agreements, but not enough to have students and teachers return to the classrooms.

Every night, the MEA and School Committee have sent out press releases reminding community members there has yet to be an agreement. Within those press releases, representatives for both parties have been placing blame on the other, citing issues such as lack of urgency and unreasonable demands. 

Dating back to Nov. 4, before the strike began, both the MEA and the School Committee released statements that started placing blame. The MEA wrote the School Committee is ignoring the crisis, neglecting to bargain in good faith, and is more focused on hiring a public relations firm. Meanwhile, the School Committee wrote the MEA is refusing to hire a mediator and are not making movements on its proposals. 

From then the accusations have only grown more intense, with the use of strong language present in both parties’ press releases. 

On Tuesday, the School Committee released a statement saying the MEA had pulled back on its recent progress made and spent the majority of its time Tuesday “posturing at the State House and parading the streets of Marblehead.” The MEA later responded at its press conference, bringing up the School Committee’s lack of urgency, and its “inability to collaborate with us [MEA] in getting a contract settled.”

Then, on Wednesday, in another press release, the School Committee stated “it was the union’s choice to engage in this illegal strike and it is their unwillingness to compromise that is dragging this on much longer than necessary.” 

On Thursday night, the MEA stated “the district’s refusal to make any offer to us today and their lack of urgency can only lead to one conclusion, their priority is to inflict financial pain upon our lowest paid hourly workers.” 

On Friday morning, the School Committee countered the accusations by stating, “it is not the lack of urgency or dedication that has kept the parties from reaching an agreement. It is the MEA’s demands for unaffordable wages.”

Both the MEA and School Committee have been making similar statements about the other as the reason for why an agreement has not been reached. Despite the disagreement, the MEA and School Committee conclude all of their press releases stating their hopes for a prompt conclusion. 

Current updates regarding Marblehead teachers’ strike

On Thursday, the MEA provided updates on negotiations. MEA Co-President Jonathan Heller addressed the recent legal actions taken against some MEA members, stating the court would not increase its fines and have paused them while ordering both parties to reach an agreement by 6 p.m. Sunday.

The School Committee’s press release Friday morning stated that a counter proposal was offered to the MEA’s most recent proposal. This counter proposal consisted of a 10.5% increase in cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for all teachers, and an additional 4.5% for teachers at the top of the wage scale, which holds more than two-thirds of the staff. 

When asked about negotiation efforts early Friday afternoon, School Committee Chair Sarah Fox said things had been moving positively and they hoped for an agreement by the end of the night. 

At 7:45 p.m. Friday, the MEA held its regular press conference to address the public on negotiation efforts for the day. MEA Co-President Shelly Shevory stated the School Committee could settle the contract tonight, but instead are using “stall negotiations.”

Shevory also addressed the proposal given to the School Committee on Tuesday, the return to work agreement. The agreement ensures teachers will be protected from retaliation upon return, and establishes how school and work days will be made up.

“The Committee has yet to respond to this proposal since we gave it to them,” Shevory added.

On a brighter note, the Gloucester union has come to an agreement and will return to schools on Monday. Beverly educators remain on strike.

The MEA and the School Committee will negotiate throughout the weekend to try and reach an agreement that will bring students and teachers back to their classrooms by Monday morning.