The Brookline School Committee is profoundly saddened by the closure of Brookline Public Schools today, Monday May 16, due to the strike by the Brookline Educators Union (BEU). As always, our primary concern is the impact on Brookline students and their caregivers. We are seeing and hearing of children’s anxiety about this situation, magnified by memories of what they face during extended pandemic school closures. Our most vulnerable learners, including students in special education and those with disabilities, are disproportionately impacted by school closures; for some food-insecure students, school is where they receive their only meals. Caregivers are having to make emergency preparations for childcare. We are working to address all community concerns in real time as much as possible.
At our state mediation session last evening, we asked the BEU not to strike and they refused. We again call on the BEU to cease and desist all strike activity so that we can focus our joint efforts on bargaining toward successful resolution. Brookline students must not be the victims of this situation any longer than they already have.
Media contact: David Pearlman, Brookline School Committee Chair, david_pearlman@psbma.org