This article is no longer being updated. Click here for Tuesday’s live strike updates.
2023 Andover Teachers Strike
Latest updates as of 10:20 p.m. on Monday:
- Schools will be closed for a third day on Tuesday.
- AEA said the sides were moving closer after bargaining sessions with a state-appointed mediator throughout the day. The school committee has not released an update since late last night.
- A former Andover School Committee chair and current Andover High School building committee member is under fire after posting a photo on the Andover Education Association’s Facebook page that likened the teachers’ strike to the January 6 insurrection.
- The Andover Education Association had until 6 p.m. Monday to end a teachers’ strike or pay a $50,000 fine, and faces an additional fine of $60,000 if the strike doesn’t end by 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to an Essex Superior Court judge’s order issued Monday afternoon. The union said it will continue striking despite the fines.
- The school committee, select board and finance committee met privately Monday morning, presumably to discuss whether the Town and Andover Public Schools budget allows for more room to meet the Andover Education Association.
More Information:
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Previous Updates:
- Ex-School Committee Member Under Fire For Post On Strike
- Schools Closed Tuesday (Monday, 9:05 p.m.)
- Union: ‘We’re Getting Close’ (Monday, 8:30 p.m.)
- Striking Union Faces Fines Of $50K+ Per Day (Monday, 6 p.m.)
- AEA Rally on Facebook (Monday, 1:20 p.m.)
- AEA Press Conference on Facebook (Monday, 11:30 am)
- Where The Sides Stand As of Monday Morning
- Select Board, FinComm Enter Strike Talks (11:30 p.m. Sunday)
- Schools Closed Monday, Strike Goes On (Sunday, 9:30 p.m.)
- No Deal After 20-Hour Bargaining Session (3:10 p.m. Sunday)
- Teachers Set To Defy Back-To-Work Order (Saturday, 11:55 a.m.)
- Judge Orders Teachers Back To Work (Friday, 7:55 p.m.)
- Negotiations scheduled to resume at 2 p.m. (Friday, 12:30 p.m.)
- Where The Sides Stand (Friday, 11:10 a.m.)
- How The School Committee’s Offer Compares To Other Districts (Friday, 11:05 a.m.)
- AEA President: Union Will Pay Fines (Friday, 10:35 a.m.)
- Teachers Vote To Strike (Thursday, 6 p.m.)
- TEACHERS STRIKE, SCHOOLS CLOSED FRIDAY
- Union: APS Pays Premium To Outsource IA Work
- All coverage
- More info and useful links
Schools Closed Tuesday (Monday, 9:05 p.m.)
Andover Public Schools will be closed for a third straight day Tuesday as the Andover Education Association and the school committee try to end a strike.
The district will once again offer box breakfasts and lunches, which can be picked up at Bancroft Elementary School between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The district offered no immediate update on negotiations when it alerted parents about tomorrow’s closing just before 9 p.m. Monday. While the school committee offered no updates on Monday, a union rep told reporters the sides were getting closer at a news conference just after 8 p.m.
Union: ‘We’re Getting Close’ (Monday, 8:30 p.m.)
The Andover Education Association says the school committee has “made some movement” in this afternoon’s bargaining session, suggesting the two sides could be nearing a deal that will end a three-day strike.
“We’re optimistic that we’re getting close. We’ve seen some movement on the part of the school committee. It’s given us hope,” AEA Vice President Julian DiGloria said during a press conference just after 8 p.m. “If we want to get things done tonight, we can get things done tonight.”
After meeting in a private session with the select board and finance committee early Monday morning, the school committee has not issued an update. The district has also not said whether schools will reopen on Tuesday.
DiGloria said the union has not lowered its most recent offer, but the school committee “is coming closer to what we’re asking for.”
“I think we all want schools to be open,” DiGloria said. “I think the kids want to be back in school.”
An Essex County Superior Court judge handed out steep fines to AEA for ignoring an order to return to work, saying they had anticipated the fines and would continue to strike. “They got their pound of flesh,” DiGloria said.
Striking Union Faces Fines Of $50K+ Per Day (Monday, 6 p.m.)
The Andover Education Association has until 6 p.m. Monday to end a teachers’ strike or pay a $50,000 fine, with an additional fine of $60,000 if the strike doesn’t end by 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to an Essex Superior Court judge’s order issued Monday afternoon.
Thereafter, the fines will go up $10,000 for each day the strike continues.
The fines had been expected, and the Andover Education said Friday it would continue to strike even if a judge ruled in favor of the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, which filed the action. The judge had granted CERB a temporary injunction Friday, which the union did not comply with ahead of the brief hearing at 2 p.m. Monday afternoon, when the judge held AEA in contempt.
In a statement, the union said the fines would “completely deplete” its member-funded cash reserves. “We anticipated these fines,” AEA said. “We anticipated the school committee exploiting the illegality of public sector strikes to break the spirit of educators in Andover.”
The Andover School Committee has not released an update since late Sunday night. The union held a press conference and rally Monday morning, and many of its 850 members picketed downtown, while the school committee met in private with the select board and finance committee to discuss budget impacts of potential deals with the union.
But the sides had yet to announce when they will return to the bargaining table, and the school committee argues its budget will be “unsustainable” if it accepts AEA’s most recent offer.
Andover Public Schools has yet to make a decision on whether schools will be closed for a third day.
AEA Rally on Facebook (Monday, 1:20 p.m.)
AEA Press Conference on Facebook (Monday, 11:30 am)
Where The Sides Stand As of Monday Morning
| Andover School Committee | Andover Education Association | |
| Total Cost of Latest Proposal | $9.6 million | $15.1 million |
| Salary Increase | 14.25% increase for teachers over four years (3.56% /year) 23.4% increase for instructional assistants (5%/year) with a 2% differential for hard-to-fill IA positions | 18% increase for teachers over four years (4.5%/year) 34% increase for instructional assistants (8.5%/year) |
| Resolved Issues | Accepted AEA’s proposal to establish district-paid parental leave of eight weeks, with an additional four weeks of paid leave coming from accrued sick time, totaling 12 weeks. Accepted AEA’s proposal to allow the use of up to 60 paid sick days during leave to care for a seriously ill family member. | |
| Still To Be Resolved/Other Issues | Wants 10 minutes of additional planning time as 10 minutes additional recess. “Living wage” of $40,000 for instructional assistants. One day per week when elementary school students would be dismissed 90 minutes early for teacher prep and planning. Changes and input for curriculum selection. |
How The School Committee’s Offer Compares To Other Districts, Friday, 11:05 a.m.
The district’s latest offer keeps APS competitive with similar school districts, School Committee Chair Spruce said in a note to the school community sent after Wednesday’s bargaining session. Andover News reviewed salaries of other Massachusetts School Districts:
| District | Effective Date | Salary Range |
| Brookline | 2023-24 | $58,894-$125,154 |
| Lexington | 2022-23 | $51,498-$118,170 |
| Newton | 2023-24 | $56,939.52-$120,172.14 |
| Wellesley | 2021-22 | $51,975-$121,680 |
| Wayland | 2022-23 | $52,825-$127,784 |
| Weston | 2022-23 | $56,245-$118,790 |