The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, announced today the closure of the city’s public schools for the rest of the school year to sustain social distancing and defeat the coronavirus, which has already caused more than 5,800 deaths in the Big Apple, although the governor of the State of New York later rejected the measure and said that it is his decision.
“It is not an easy or satisfactory decision for those of us who have been making efforts so that our children get the best education possible,” said De Blasio about the schools, where 1.1 million students attend and which have been closed since March 15. .
The school year in New York State ends in June, and the mayor added that the city will work with parents to reopen public schools in September, when classes restart each year.
Democrat De Blasio said the city will make sure that every kid who needs an iPad or computer to continue with online classes receives one by the end of April, and that 240,000 devices will be made available, CNN reported.
The mayor said his government is working on a “comprehensive plan” to reopen schools in September, in a safe way and focused on helping in particular the most disadvantaged students or those most affected by the coronavirus.
“Next year is going to have to be the best academic year New York public schools have ever had,” De Blasio said.
Today I announced we will close @NYCSchools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
This is a public health decision and not an easy one. But it’s the right one. The social distancing strategies have been working, and we cannot risk a resurgence of the virus.
– Major Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 11, 2020
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After De Blasio’s decision went around the world, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo rejected the closure of public schools in the Big Apple for the remainder of the school year hours after the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced that measure publicly, and assured that, legally, that is a decision that he must make, EFE reported.
“It is my legal authority to make such a decision,” Cuomo said at a press conference held this Saturday two hours after De Blasio’s announcement about the closure of all public schools in New York City until, at least, the next September.
Cuomo, who governs the entire region of New York State, where New York City is located, assured that, if that decision is made, it will be done in a coordinated manner for the entire area, and not only for the metropolis, as already It did when the temporary closure of schools was announced on March 15 as a result of the spread of the coronavirus.
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“When we closed them then, they were closed throughout the state, not only in the city,” declared the governor in what represents a new public confrontation between the highest leaders of the state and the metropolis of New York, who do not enjoy a good relationship for years.
Cuomo also criticized that De Blasio has claimed to be considering the reopening of businesses in the Big Apple for the month of May: “I do not understand how you are going to start business again in May but keep the schools closed.”
“You can’t tell people ‘I think you’re going to go back to work but schools are going to continue to be closed, so figure out what to do with your children all day,'” he added.
In addition to a statewide coordinated restart of schools, the governor said he would also like to be able to reach an agreement to do it at the same time in the tri-state zone, made up of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
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