Nine days of no school: Newton community hopes for teacher strike resolution

Public school students in Newton were out of class again Wednesday, as the Newton teachers strike extended into its ninth day. Many of those involved in the conflict, from teachers to parents to Newton city officials, say they are frustrated that the walkout — the longest-running in a Massachusetts school district in recent time — has lasted this long.

"Every morning we have to push through the frustration over how long this has gone on," Jamie Rinaldi, a history and politics teacher at Newton South High School, said at a rally outside the Newton Education Center Wednesday morning. "And we have to push through knowing it's going to be another day [holding rallies] out in the gray winter days of January in New England."

On Wednesday, teacher-protestors were joined by Rebecca Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, the umbrella organization for the Newton Teachers Association.

"I know that you will continue to stand up and lift up your voices and fight for your students and for your colleagues and for this community," Pringle told a crowd of hundreds of NTA members.

The roughly 2,000 members of the Newton Teachers Association have been working without a new contract since August 2023. They are striking to push for higher starting pay for teacher aides, more social workers in school buildings and cost of living increases for teachers. Nearly 12,000 kids in Newton have been out of school since Jan. 19, meaning they've missed nearly two weeks of instructional school time as contract negotiations continue.

As of Wednesday early evening, no update was available as to whether a deal was any closer, or whether school would be closed again Thursday.

Rinaldi, chair of the Newton Teachers Association's contract action team, said seeing so many educators show up to the daily rallies and share the message of the teachers union around town gives him the energy to keep pushing at the negotiating table.

But parents in Newton are sharing a range of feelings. Some support the teachers' cause, while others say they're fed up by the length of the strike.

"We feel like our children are suffering significant harm as a result of an illegal strike and the law is in place for a reason," said David Belfort, father to a middle and high school student in Newton. He said staying home from work is not an option for him and his wife.

Belfort added that he worries about how much instructional time his kids are missing. "My daughter has Advanced Placement classes and the exam is coming up and they're not going to delay those [national exam dates]," he said.

Massachusetts state law prohibits public sector workers from striking. The NTA has racked up more than $500,000 in fines since the start of the strike.

The strike in Newton has surpassed in length those held in other districts since 2022, including in Malden, Haverhill and Andover.

Jess Champion, a mom of three Newton Public Schools students, voiced support for teachers at a Tuesday night press conference organized by a group of concerned parents.

"I stand with our educators ten-thousand percent," she said. "I'm shocked that anyone thinks for a second that these educators care more about money than our kids when they chose a profession that pays far below what they deserve."

Union and city officials say contract negotiations have been productive over the last few days.

The two sides have come close to an agreement on yearly teacher cost-of-living adjustments. However, demands like placing a social worker in every school and increasing the pay for "unit C" members, also known as teachers aides, remain sticking points. Pay for teacher aides starts at around $24,000 in Newton, according to a union report from November. The average teacher pay is roughly $93,000, based on 2020-21 school year data.

Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller was at the negotiating table for the first time Tuesday evening, according to a statement she released. Fuller acknowledged the stress that the strike is causing the community, and urged teachers to return to the classroom while the school committee and NTA leadership continue negotiating the contract.

"If they reopen schools, I and the School Committee negotiating team commit to continued, in-depth, ongoing, substantive negotiations," Fuller said in an email update sent out to the community Tuesday night.

Because of the length of the work stoppage, Newton Public Schools leaders have been working up proposals for how students will make up the nine missed school days so far. State law requires that districts offer at least 180 days of school each year. Newton Superintendent Anna Nolin is seeking school committee approval for a three-step plan which includes extending the school year until June 30th, holding classes during April recess and using weekend make-up days if the need arises.

The school committee will be voting on the issue Thursday night.

Correction: An earlier version of this post spelled Jamie Rinaldi's name wrong. The story has been updated. We regret the error.