Andover teachers are out of the classroom and on strike as they continue to battle the School Committee for a new contract agreement after more than nine months of bargaining.

Around 1,000 educators, students, parents and other supporters gathered at the Town Common for a solidarity rally Friday, less than 24 hours after 95% of the Andover Education Association voted to authorize an “open-ended strike.”

“In Andover, traditionally this has been a lighthouse district for public education. We want to keep it that way,” union Vice President Julian DiGloria said. “We are doing this to keep it that way.”

“The School Committee just needs to work with us, offer us a fair contract, respect their employees, and we will continue to make this a lighthouse district,” he added.

Educators are calling for better pay for instructional aides, fair raises for teachers, protections for prep time, longer lunch and recess periods for the youngest learners, access to paid family and medical leave, and more of a say in curriculum decisions.

The strike comes after the union bargained with the School Committee nearly 30 times, without the two sides reaching an agreement.

Under state law, teachers, along with other public employees, are not allowed to strike as a means of forcing contract concessions. As a result, the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board has ordered Andover educators to immediately return to school.

The state has also appointed a mediator to “work with both parties and help them reach a fair and equitable agreement,” according to a Friday morning update from the School Committee.

The first session with the mediator came Friday afternoon following the hour-long rally. There was no indication that the union and School Committee would be reaching a deal by the end of the night, DiGloria told the Herald. He added that both sides say they are committed to wrapping up negotiations by the end of the weekend.

“We believe our most recent offers … are fair and competitive,” the School Committee stated in the morning update. “Our offers increase salaries and wages, provide significant additional elementary teacher prep time, and expand paid parental leave, while staying within our budget parameters and long-range financial plan.”

Among the offers are a 23% raise for starting-level teacher salaries to $58,870 and an 11% increase for top-level salaries to $118,882 after three years; significant boosts in hourly pay for instructional assistants; and an additional 10 minutes of uninterrupted prep and planning time nearly every day.

Kevin Mann, a social studies teacher at Doherty Middle School, has worked in the district for 16 years, and he told the Herald that it’s been going in the “wrong direction.”

One of the glaring issues, he said, is how the district has been hiring more administrators and not enough teachers, and that has resulted in less time to help students as teachers meet with department heads “just to do stuff.”

“I hope it’s done today,” Mann said of the strike. “This kind of thing hasn’t affected them. We’ve had so many people stand up and give heartfelt talks to the School Committee, but they’re just not [listening]. I don’t know what it is.”

Legislation has been filed at the State House that would amend the law to allow teachers to strike if they have been at contract negotiations for more than six months without reaching agreement. Gov. Maura Healey, however, has indicated she would veto the bill if it hits her desk.

Around 1,000 educators, students, parents and other supporters gathered at the Town Common for a solidarity rally Friday. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Around 1,000 educators, students, parents and other supporters gathered at the Town Common for a solidarity rally Friday. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Around 1,000 educators, students, parents and other supporters gathered at the Town Common for a solidarity rally Friday. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)