Contract negotiations between the Newton Teachers Association and the city’s School Committee remained stubbornly deadlocked as tensions rose on Monday, sending the marathon teachers’ strike into its twelfth day.

“They say this isn’t work, the last 11 days when we walked in the streets and we came out in rain and snow and cold and wind and if there was a volcano we would’ve came out,” said school counselor Daniel Arroyo at a rally Monday. “And they say this isn’t work. This isn’t work. And the mayor can make $125,000 to not talk to us. Not talk to us. But she doesn’t get fined.”

Going into 12 days on strike and eight days of cancelled school, Newton’s is the longest teacher’s strike in Massachusetts since the 1990s. Since May 2022, educators have gone on strike in Brookline, Haverhill, Malden, Woburn and Andover, with the longest stint lasting five days in Woburn.

The School Committee released a short update after 7:30 p.m. Monday briefly stating that school will be closed on Tuesday.

The NTA declared a strike on Friday, Jan. 19 nearly five months after their contract expired and 16 months into negotiations. On Monday, emotions were running high at another City Hall rally and along the picket lines at the Education Center, with banging bucket drums and “You won’t break us” chants ringing loudly.

The union has so far been fined $425,000 and will continue to accrue $50,000 fines for each day on strike. It is illegal for public employees to go on strike under Massachusetts state law.

The union has stated contract priorities including adding a social worker to every elementary and middle school building, increasing paid parental leave, cost of living adjustments for all educators and living wage raises for Unit C professionals like teachers aides and behavior therapists.

According to most recent proposals released by the NTA and NPS, the only major compromise on those priorities has been paid parental leave, which has been set to 60 days by both sides.

“The tone today was respectful, and we emphasized our sense of urgency in getting our students back to school,” Lynn Penczar, third grade teacher and member of the negotiations team, said of Monday’s negotiations. “While we’re inching closer on smaller issues, we’re still far apart on many of the things that are most important to our students and our educators.”

Penczar and other member of the negotiations team led the NTA press conference at 7:30 p.m. Monday, speaking in a neutral tone in stark contrast to previous press conferences led by NTA spokespeople and leadership that took fiery aim mostly at Mayor Ruthanne Fuller.

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Before the press conference brief shouting and a minor altercation erupted as parents were prevented from entering the room, with one male parent asking repeatedly for someone to stop touching him before turning back.

During the rally, one high school junior admitted that though she supports the teachers, she regrets missing out on this “crucial part” in her high school experience and preparing for college.

Tensions with some parents have grown as the strike wears on, and a Newton mother filed a motion in court Monday to compel teachers to return to work.

“We tried that for 16 months, and we didn’t get anywhere,” said sixth grade teacher and bargaining team member Elana Cutler, asked to respond to the lawsuit’s motion to reopen schools while bargaining continues. “For us, this was an absolute last resort. … We felt and we knew that it was our only option.”