Rachel Rex, co-president of the Gloucester union, said on Thursday night that their schools “are in crisis”.

“The only way educators can see a way forward is through the actions we take,” she said. “Teachers and paraprofessionals have fought for safe schools, paid parental leave, competitive wages, basic dignity and respect in the workplace.”

But Kathleen Clancy, the committee’s chairwoman, said in an emailed statement late Thursday that the strike “will shut down student learning, shut down afterschool programs and athletics, and leave parents scrambling for child care options without notice or not at all”.

“Every day the strike continues, our most vulnerable students lack convenient access to hot meals, needed continuing education and critical mental health services,” Clancy said. “This action will put many parents in the difficult position of having to sacrifice working hours and wages. All of this is absolutely unacceptable.”

In Beverly, Julia Brotherton, co-president of the Beverly Educators Union, said the strike is a last resort.

“None of us want to do this, but at this point we have no choice,” Brotherton said at an evening news conference Thursday night. “We love the work we do … We want nothing more than to get back into classrooms as soon as possible.”

Rachael Abell, president of the Beverly School Committee, said in a statement Thursday night that officials hope to reach “a quick conclusion.”

“We know that this decision by the BTA to take this illegal action is unfairly disrupting the education of our students,” she said.

While it is illegal for Massachusetts teachers and other public employees to strikein the past few years, there have been a number of teacher strikes across the state that have proven largely effective as contract agreements have followed shortly after each one. The strikes follow requests from school boards in both communities asking the Department of Labor Relations to halt potential work stoppages.

Newton’s strike earlier this year locked educators and their employers in a bitter 15-day standoff, the longest teacher strike to roil a Massachusetts community in three decades. The duration and dispute of the strike, which he put neighbor with neighborleft parents, school officials and community leaders wondering which other educators would be next to walk the picket line.

From 2022, Andover, Brookline, Haverhill, Maldenand Woburn also went on strike. Last year, and Melrose voted to authorize the strikebut was quickly shunned by his educators and the School Committee reached an agreement on a new contract the next night.

Gloucester earlier this year faced a $3.1 million budget shortfall, but the city stepped in and in May provided $1 million in additional funding to help cushion the cuts. according to the Gloucester Times.

Officials in the 2,900-student district cited rising special education and transportation costs as reasons for the shortfall.

In Beverly, Mayor Michael Cahill has he pleaded publicly so that the educators of his city do not leave the service.

In May, more than 300 teachers packed a school board meeting to protest proposed budget cuts, according to The Salem News.

This breaking news. Check back for updates.

This story contains material from previous Globe reporting.

Deanna Pan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow a @DDpan. Mandy McLaren can be reached at [email protected]. Follow a @mandy_mclaren. Izzy Bryars can be reached at [email protected]. Follow a @izzybryars.