Healey intervenes in the Newton Teachers Strike as discussions continue late into the evening.

Governor Maura Healey has entered the fight in a desperate bid to end the 11-day-long Newton teachers’ strike. Newton’s classes were cancelled again on Friday, despite a late-night bargaining session that finished at six in the morning. A settlement is still elusive.

At Healey’s request, the Department of Labour Relations submitted a plea on Thursday afternoon requesting that the Middlesex Superior Court hold twice-daily status conferences. These conferences would require the striking teachers and the school committee to keep the public and the court informed about the progress of the discussions.

Patrick Tutwiler, the secretary of education, intends to attend these status conferences in order to discuss the significant harm brought on by the protracted cancellation of classes. Tutwiler voiced his worries in a statement, highlighting the effect on pupils and the necessity of giving their education top priority.

The state has given themselves until Friday at 5 p.m. to reach a resolution if one still cannot come to an agreement. If they are not fulfilled, binding arbitration will be ordered by the court. Since state law forbids strikes by public employees, including teachers, the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) has already been hit with fines totaling $575,000.

The NTA is unwavering in the face of continuous fines. Negotiations dragged on through Thursday night without a definitive deal. The School Committee, led by Chris Brezski, allegedly abruptly stopped negotiations at 6 a.m., according to the NTA, after failing to reach an agreement on a strategy for returning to work and the provision of social workers for each school.

During a news conference, Brezski said that every issue had been settled save for the precise monetary sums. He said that there was insufficient competition analysis and economic foundation in the NTA’s funding proposal. In response, the NTA said that they had changed their budget by 4 a.m. to align with the School Committee’s, but disagreements surfaced on social worker contracts and other aspects of the working and educational environment.

The School Committee was chastised by the NTA for their activities throughout the 16-month negotiating period that preceded the strike vote, and they were accused of having little interest in finding a solution to the strike. The union is still open to a just and reasonable settlement that encourages the school community’s ties to be repaired. The future of Newton’s public schools is in jeopardy as hostilities rise.