BEVERLY — City councilors on Monday lamented how the teachers strike is tearing the city apart and urged the two sides to settle as the impasse headed into its 19th day on Tuesday, and the 12th day students will miss school.
But the council fell short of passing a resolution in support of more funding for the schools, with some councilors saying that was not the role of the council and would interfere with the negotiations.
The emotional meeting was packed with teachers and supporters who entered City Hall after spending more than an hour rallying in front of the building on Cabot Street.
The Beverly Teachers Association set up a “bargaining table” on the sidewalk outside City Hall and called up Mayor Mike Cahill and two members of the School Committee’s bargaining committee on the phone to ask them to come down and negotiate.
The spectacle took place amid hundreds of teachers and supporters as they danced to music, held signs, waved to passing cars, and chanted for Cahill and the School Committee to come to an agreement with teachers. At one point, a Teamsters Local 25 Boston 16-wheeler truck drove by with its horn blaring.
The BTA staged the event as a way to protest the decision of Cahill and the School Committee to stop negotiating on Monday. School Committee President Rachael Abell has said the committee will not resume bargaining unless teachers go back to school.
With no negotiations, the next step is expected to be a hearing by a state-appointed fact-finder on Monday, Dec. 2. But the BTA says it won’t take part in fact-finding because it would take too long and is nonbinding.
The strike and its effect on the city was the topic of discussion in council chambers because of resolution proposed by City Councilor Hannah Bowen “in support of funding student and educator success.”
The resolution called on the mayor and the School Committee to work with the BTA reach a settlement and reopen schools “with the utmost urgency.” It also committed the City Council to acting quickly on additional funding request resulting from a settled contract, and committed the council to working to ensure sustainable funding for schools and other critical city services.
Ward 6 City Councilor Matt St. Hilaire, his voice choking with emotion, said, “The strike has been a disruption to our students and families. It’s damaging our community and and was completely avoidable.
“Mayor Cahill and the School Committee, you’ve long known that teacher pay is not competitive to our surrounding communities. You’ve had a front-row view to what’s happening in our schools and you should’ve been more proactive.”
Several councilors lamented the role social media has played during strike, including the spread of misinformation and personal attacks.
“Civil discourse is what our community is in dire need of at this moment,” Councilor Kathleen Feldman said.
“Honestly I think money right now is the least of our problems,” Feldman added. “It feels like it’s respect and transparency.”
As councilors discussed the strike, sounds from the rally outside on Cabot Street could be heard.
Councilors ultimately voted 4-3 against the resolution. St. Hilaire, Brendan Sweeney, Steven Crowley and Scott Houseman voted against it. Feldman, Bowen and Julie Flowers voted in favor.