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MARBLEHEAD, MA — In what could be considered the first sign of significant progress since the Marblehead Education Association voted to strike last Friday, the union and the School Committee Bargaining sub-Committee reached a tentative agreement Saturday on parameters for a Joint Committee on School Safety.
Outside of wage increases, school safety has been a main sticking point in negotiations with teachers wanting a seat at the table on binding agreements to address support systems and procedures for dysregulated students.
“The sub-Committee hopes today’s momentum will continue and we will get to an agreement (on a full contract) soon,” School Committee member Sarah Fox said on Saturday night.
Negotiations were scheduled to continue with mediators at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
“We are ready to make more progress tomorrow,” the MEA said in a statement on Saturday.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)