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With Newton schools still closed due to teachers strike, families go to court to reopen schools
A family took to the court Monday to legally force Newton teachers back into classrooms, documents show. Classes are canceled for Tuesday
The Newton Teachers Association and Newton Public Schools traded edits to a memorandum of understanding on Monday, but still failed to come to an agreement on a new contract as of Monday night.
Tuesday will be the eighth day of the strike that’s keeping 12,000 students out of Newton schools.
The strike is one of the longest teacher strikes in the state since school was first canceled on Jan. 19. NTA’s MOU submitted this afternoon to the School Committee agreed to a few of the district’s proposals, while the NPS said their open issues include athletic directors and trainers as well as healthcare.
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A family took to the court Monday in an attempt to legally force Newton teachers back into classrooms, documents show. More than 20 families have added their support to the family’s motion, which was added to an injunction filed against the Newton Teachers Association, WCVB reported.
The injunction, initially filed the first day of the strike by the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, implores a judge to force the educators to end the strike. Judge Christopher Barry-Smith ruled on Friday to temporarily pause fines on the union through Sunday night in the interest of fair bargaining. As of Jan. 26, the union owed $375,000 in fines, with $50,000 added on each day starting Sunday night.
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Newton parent Lital Asher-Dotan filed an emergency motion to intervene on behalf of her three children, two 15-year-olds at Newton South High School and a 14-year-old at Oak Hill Middle School. Asher-Dotan claimed the strike has caused “severely detrimental effects” for the three students due to the lack of structure, especially for one student in an individualized program.
“The social and emotional toll is significant,” Asher-Dotan’s motion said. “One of the proposed sophomore student intervenors, an avid hockey player, has missed valuable parts of the short hockey season, not just his athletic development but his social and emotional well-being. The strike has isolated him from his main social circle, leading to growing depression and detriments to his mental health.”
Anna Nolin, the Newton Public Schools superintendent, said in an affidavit in the same injunction that the schools and school committee are spending more than needed or planned due to the strike.
They will most likely owe money to special education students and are paying for police details during the strike, more money on student meals, overtime pay for custodial staff, and legal fees, Nolin wrote. A possible extended school year due to the strike will cost the schools up to $290,000 in salaries.
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