BEVERLY — The Beverly teachers strike continued into its 18th day as the two sides said late Sunday they could not come to an agreement.
There were signs of progress over the weekend after the two sides agreed to meet face-to-face for the first time since mediation began three weeks ago. Beverly Teachers Association Co-President Andrea Sherman said she hoped that the face-to-face meetings “moved the needle in the right direction.”
“It’s always helpful to remember there are human beings on both sides of the table,” she said.
Still, the School Committee and the Beverly Teachers Association could not even agree on the math behind their latest proposals. The BTA said its proposal was actually $1 million less than what the School Committee was offering.
But the School Committee said the opposite, that the union’s proposals were $3.3 million higher than the School Committee’s offer.
“It is untrue to say the BTA proposal is lower than the (School Committee’s) proposal,” School Committee President Rachael Abell said in a statement.
About 100 people gathered outside Hannah School on Sunday night for a candlelight ceremony in support of teachers while negotiations went on inside the school. School officials delayed making a decision on whether to close schools on Monday in hopes that an agreement could be reached.
The two sides were purportedly facing a 6 p.m. Sunday deadline to settle the strike or be forced to submit to a fact-finding process under the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations. But the union, which is already striking illegally, said it would not abide by a judge’s ruling to go to fact-finding, saying the process would take too long and is not binding.
The strike began Nov. 7 and was in its 17th day on Sunday. Students had missed 10 days of school as of Friday.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.