Gov. Cuomo: School districts late on reopening plans must send by Friday
ALBANY, N.Y. (WROC) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo held a conference call with media Monday that covered school reopening plans. According to the Governor’s Office, 107 school districts still haven’t submitted their reopening plans yet. In the Capital District, they include:
- Broadalbin-Perth
- Mayfield
- Argyle
- Fort Ann
- Johnsburg
- Catskill
- Windham Ashland
- Edinburg Common Sd
- Shenendehowa
- Germantown
- Kinderhook
- Brunswick Central
- East Greenbush
- Troy
- Amsterdam
- Canajoharie
- Fort Plain
NEWS10 reached out to several districts that said they submitted plans on time. We also reached out to the Office of the Governor for clarity on why they’re included on this list. They responded with this statement:
“The list of districts that didn’t file a plan with the state Department of Health is accurate. Despite clear guidance provided to these schools, which included a link to the DOH portal, some districts in follow-up calls said they filed with the State Education Department – which is not an executive agency – but didn’t file with DOH. Others filled out an affirmation certifying that they would be abiding by the state’s reopening guidance, but didn’t actually submit their plan, something many of these districts are now rectifying.”
The school district in Amsterdam says its plans went to the Department of Education on time, but had not been submitted to the Department of Health by the Friday deadline. Districts must send reopening plans to both departments.
Cuomo said that districts that missed the deadline must send in their plans this week. “They didn’t submit a plan to the DOH or SED, and if they don’t submit a plan by this Friday they can’t open,” he said. “Maybe they just have determined that they just don’t want to open, which is the only logical conclusion, but if they think they’re going to reopen then they have to have their plan in by Friday, period.”
Because of the continually low coronavirus infection rate, the governor on Friday announced that all schools across the state could reopen. Districts submitted reopening proposals last week to the New York State Department of Education. On Friday, those districts received approval to move forward.
Even so, he says that schools could end up closed again if the infection rate gets too high, even if they have an approved plan in place. Those with no plan are being held back from opening their doors.
“How they didn’t submit a plan is beyond me,” Cuomo said.“The main arbiter here—of whether a school district has an intelligent plan to reopen and whether people have confidence in that district’s plan—It’s going to be the parents and it’s going to be the teachers, and that requires discussion, and that’s going to be a dialogue.”
The Conference of Big 5 School Districts—which includes Albany, New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse—must hold five discussion sessions. The governor is also requiring districts to hold at least one discussion with teachers to allow them to ask their questions and air their concerns.
“You’re not going to dictate to parents that they have to send their child, they don’t have to send their child,” Gov. Cuomo said. “They’re not going to send their child if they don’t think the plan makes sense. Teachers do have different concerns or additional concerns beyond just the student populations. You don’t want to rush these conversations. You don’t want to create more anxiety for the parents and for the teachers. And so that’s what the school district needs to do, and they need to do it ASAP.”
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced that states must pay part of $400 weekly unemployment insurance benefits. Cuomo told a telephone news conference that Trump’s plan would likely cost New York state $4 billion.
The governor said he would have further comment on the federal response during a second Monday briefing scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
The full list of school districts that have not submitted a plan is below:
- Franklinville
- Portville
- Salamanca
- West Valley
- Broadalbin-Perth
- Mayfield
- Kendall
- Argyle
- Fort Ann
- Hendrick Hudson
- Bedford
- Garrison
- Carle Place
- Elmont
- Garden City
- Lawrence
- Locust Valley
- Malverne
- Manhasset
- Mineola
- New Hyde Park
- Plainedge
- Plainview
- Syosset
- Uniondale
- Middletown
- Valley-Montgmry
- Camden
- Oriskany
- Utica
- Waterville
- Lake Pleasant
- C-V At Ilion-Mohawk Csd
- Van Hornsville
- Carthage
- Lyme
- Newark Valley
- Spencer Van Etten
- George Jr Republic
- Brentwood
- Brookhaven-Comsewogue Ufsd
- Deer Park
- Longwood
- Middle Country
- Mount Sinai
- North Babylon
- Oysterponds
- Remsenburg
- Rocky Point
- Sachem
- Tuckahoe Common
- Wainscott
- Western Suffolk Boces
- Arkport
- Bradford
- Corning
- Hammondsport
- Cooperstown
- Richfield Springs Csd
- Worcester
- Odessa Montour
- Peru
- Johnsburg
- Webster
- Nyack
- Sloan
- Williamsville
- Catskill
- Windham Ashland
- Edinburg Common Sd
- Shenendehowa
- Sagaponack
- Cortland
- Andes
- Margaretville
- Beacon
- Poughkeepsie
- Elmira
- Victor
- East Bloomfield
- Geneva
- Lewiston Porter
- Pine Valley
- Altmar-Parish
- Oswego
- Fayettvlle-Manlius
- Berkshire
- Germantown
- Kinderhook
- Brunswick Central
- East Greenbush
- Troy
- Seneca Falls
- Eldred
- Jeff Youngsville
- Canton
- Hammond
- Heuvelton
- Lisbon
- Massena
- Potsdam
- Palmyra-Macedon
- Red Creek
- Wyoming
- Amsterdam
- Canajoharie
- Fort Plain
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