MARBLEHEAD, MASS. (WHDH) - The superintendent of Marblehead Public Schools said high school students will be allowed to play sports and participate in other extracurricular activities scheduled for this weekend.
With teachers on the picket line, the district will use non-teacher, non-union personnel to facilitate the activities, Interim Superintendent John J. Robidoux announced Thursday.
“This is just a small step in normalizing the student’s experience during these challenging times,” Robidoux wrote in a letter to district families.
Robidoux had previously made the decision to cancel all activities.
The boys’ football team has a major playoff game Friday. Players said they were excited to get out on the field, especially due to the uncertainty earlier in the week.
“I was speechless. I didn’t even believe it at first, just because of everything happening,” said Brady Selvais, co-captain of the Marblehead High School football team.
One of the team’s quarterbacks, who wears number 12, said the players have been practicing on their own to get ready for the game.
“We put on that jersey every week knowing that we’re going to fight with our brothers, we’re family now,” said Finn Gallup.
Some football players and their parents went to a superior court judge in hopes of forcing the superintendent’s hand. They said they are pleased with his change of heart, but concerned since teachers who are in the union cannot coach the boys.
“These are shared experiences they have with their students. These are memories that they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives, and we want our [union] coaches to be able to be part of that,” said Jonathan Heller, co-president of the Marblehead Education Association.
Teachers continue to strike in Gloucester and Beverly, in addition to Marblehead.
Gloucester teachers, who marched to City Hall Thursday, are seeking better pay and working conditions. The school committee is cancelling sports and other activities as long as the strike continues. However, the board is making an exception, allowing varsity cheerleaders to compete in a regional competition.
In Beverly, the city is allowing teachers to coach sports and supervise extracurriculars.
The striking teachers are now being fined for every day they are out of the classroom, as it is illegal for teachers to strike in Massachusetts.
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