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After teacher strike, Newton parent seeks payments to students and families
A Newton mother filed a motion arguing that students and their families deserve to be paid damages alongside the School Committee because of the learning loss caused by the strike.
In the wake of one of the longest teacher strikes in Massachusetts in decades, a Newton parent is now asking a judge to award damages to students and their families.
Newton schools were closed for 11 days as teachers clashed with the School Committee and Mayor Ruthanne Fuller. Eventually, the Newton Teachers Association approved a four-year contract with upgrades to compensation, family leave, and mental health support for students. Classes resumed Monday.
Lital Asher-Dotan filed a motion in Middlesex Superior Court on behalf of herself and her children Monday. In it, she mentioned how a judge spoke to the “profound harm to and loss sustained” by Newton students.
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The issue of civil compensatory relief and restitution to the Newton School Committee payable by the NTA is currently pending before the court, she wrote.
In Massachusetts, teachers and other public employees are prohibited from going on strike. The NTA was fined more than $500,000 over the course of the strike.
Asher-Dotan made the case that money to be awarded to the School Committee by the union should also go to students and their families because a judge said that the students were victims of the illegal strike along with the School Committee.
“While the court is addressing the compensatory relief and restitution to the Newton Public Schools, that pales in comparison to the loss and damages sustained by Newton Public School students and their families stemming from the illegal strike,” the motion reads.
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Asher-Dotan called for an evidentiary hearing. The motion did not include any specific dollar amounts that might be paid to students and their families.
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