Sunday, April 12, 2020

CUOMO TALKING ABOUT SCHOOLS IN SUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE

I am watching the Governor's Sunday press conference.

Governor Cuomo was asked about reopening the schools. The Governor said there should be a coordinated approach in the region (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) for a plan to reopen the schools. He stated that we are not sure about the month of June and that any decision to reopen the schools would be based on science. He added that the best scientific experts have told him they don't know where we will be in terms of the pandemic in June; it's too early to tell. He pointed out that we are trying to take a regional approach. That is the optimal plan.

Cuomo emphasized that businesses can't reopen without the schools being opened because schools provide education as well as childcare. He added that he understands Mayor de Blasio's position on the topic of wanting the schools closed through June but Cuomo wants to take a regional approach to reopening them and the Governor has the final word on the issue.

The curve on COVID-9 does seem to be flattening according to Cuomo but over 9,000 have died.



Happy Easter.

Update

I missed Mayor de Blasio's presser this morning. He is backing down a bit. Here is the report from City and State:

De Blasio dodged questions during a Sunday morning press conference about whether he has the authority to decide that New York City schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. DeBlasio announced on Saturday morning that schools would remain closed, but Cuomo, in his own press briefing just after, denied that de Blasio could make that decision on his own, and said that a regional approach would be taken to decide when schools would reopen. Asked multiple times by reporters at his Sunday morning briefing, de Blasio did not address who had the legal authority to make that decision, instead saying that he wanted to focus on the “moral” choice and that the right thing to do is to close schools for the rest of the year. After his press conference finished, however, NY1’s Zack Fink tweeted a statement from a de Blasio administration official suggesting that the mayor does have the authority to close schools. 


29 comments:

Anonymous said...

THIS. SO MUCH OF THIS.

By contrast, all of South Korea has had 211 deaths. Seoul alone has a population of more than 9 million. Two deaths. Same timeline.

We've been failed by every level of government.

Anonymous said...

Read between the lines, unless there is a huge second wave, schools will be open June 1.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 12:36 - and who is going back? There are no Regents, I highly doubt any sort of graduation or stepping up activities will take place-and we all know minimal learning takes place in June as it is. Cuomo is a PITA but even he has to see that parents are not going to allow their children on school buses and public transportation, and plenty of teachers with underlying conditions will be calling out daily. So what is the purpose?

Cuomo is just pissed- I believe it was his intention to close NYS schools for the rest of the year at some point this week, and is getting even now because DeBlasio stole his thunder. When everyone was screaming for DeBlasio to close the schools, why didn't Cuomo step in sooner? None of this makes sense- especially the part where the DOE website says we are closed for the year.

Anonymous said...

Forget logic, no second wave, we are open in June. Businesses need us to babysit. Bet on it. Okay 12:36. We can have a gentle person's bet. Teachers will show up. Teachers are scared little babies. Mulgrew might want to file one of his stupid lawsuits. It will go nowhere.

Anonymous said...

It's the economy stupid. Schools are a nobody side show cog.

Anonymous said...

Closing schools is the latest example. De Blasio makes an announcement his school system will stay closed. Cuomo says NO for no conceivable reason. It's a farce because coronavirus will 100 percent keep public schools shut through June and everyone knows this. Ross Barkin

Anonymous said...

Remember, no regents, high schools have classes all the way to the 26th. It was very clear that if things are ok, businesses and schools will open hand in hand asap. He isnt opening one without the other.

Anonymous said...

The day they have antibody testing, we will be open.

Anonymous said...

The kids will not show up anyway. They don't show up when it rains or there's a bit of snow. Do you think they'll show up during a pandemic? It's useless but he doe likes to flaunt uselessness.

Anonymous said...

Head doctor of FDA on NBC. He says they are still looking at May 1 to reopen economy. They are going to open as fast as they can. June 1 is possible.

CoronaMyAss said...

I don't know what they are talking about. School was only closed for a week. My principal makes sure I do a Google Hangout 5 periods a day even though only a few kids show up. And then I have to call their parents. This is work man and the schools are open.

Anonymous said...

After reading Operation Graduation, I have a few questions/comments

Since there have been stories about students selling electronic devices the DOE has provided

Since students are unable to do schoolwork because they don't have internet, yet are on social media all day, these days and in class

Since all students MUST pass no matter what

Since students who failed the 1st MP while we were in school and have done nothing while they were supposed to be participating in remote learning

Since students are not staying inside, and actually outside fighting, smoking, playing basketball

Since students have gone into Google Classroom and written, flat out, "Fuck you, I ain't doin this"

Since we and our union or NYs meekest and weakest

After reading Operation Graduation, please contact the CSA and have them contact all supervisors. Since they are up our asses in many cases, since they have had outrageous demands since day 1, since we are working over spring break and Good Friday, since all students must pass, please tell them that that we will no longer be doing remote learning, no longer be grading things, no longer go live, no longer respond at all hours of the night, no longer exchange our family time to participate in a fruitless charade.

For anyone with any sense of morality, dignity, and a little intelligence, being a NYC school teacher is a lose-lose profession. You can either spend your energy fighting the sham, resisting the imposed fraudulence, trying to teach, being honest with your students, but losing ground all the time or you can swallow your pride, play your part in the sham, sell your soul, whistle dixie, and just move along like it was a great sunny day during a hurricane.

PLEASE READ Operation Graduation AND EXPLAIN WHY WE SHOULD BOTHER TRYING....




James Eterno said...

Good point CoronaMyAss and very innovative name. We are talking about school buildings clearly.

How is your computer holding up and do you have enough bandwidth in your wifi to support your workload? I would check on this and tell admin if necessary.

Anonymous said...

12:36
I agree, I thought Diblasio was premature in closing for the year. Business interests want them open to get the economy up and running again. Cuomo has said that in both press conferences. We all know that big money interests control the political process in NY and this country. The schools have to be open to get the economy going again. However, if there are still hundreds of people dying each day in this state well into May... I don't think any politician would be willing to open them in June.

CoronaMyAss...

I concur, this remote learning is just as much work as being in the schools...You just don't deal with a commute... traffic, parking, crowded buses and trains...and you save on gasoline and Metrocards.

Anonymous said...

The day we finish administering a foolproof Coronavirus vaccine to the entire country (330 million people) is the day I feel safe enough to go to back to school.

Otherwise anyone could have the disease and spread it to me. They might not even know they have it (25-50% are entirely asymptomatic).

I know it is 5 or 6 years best case but it is not worth one person dying.

Anonymous said...

2:12, When Cuomo opens schools up, are you going to quit?

Anonymous said...

That is a good question. Cuomo made it very clear he is opening everything together. A lot of us take public transportation. Some take several modes. That, plus being in contact with hundreds or thousands of people in the building. What are we going to do? If you just decide to be absent the whole month of June you will be fired.

Unitymustgo! said...

Whenever we reopen schools there will be an upswing in Covid cases. That upswing will disproportionately affect school building personnel. Probably cafeteria and teachers the highest. This inevitably is what I would like to hear the UFT talking about. They should be in active discussions to proactively discuss policies and procedures about every possible scenario when we reopen. Fighting to put procedures in place to minimize this and to protect us. To be clear I don’t think they will do anything. I have no faith in the UFT.

Anonymous said...

They care about our fucking dues money.

Anonymous said...

And how many of us will have masks to wear? We would each need several per day.

Bronx ATR said...

Cuomo won’t open the schools this school year; he’s not saying that yet because he has to put deBlasio in his place. If deBlasio persists he’ll take mayoral control of the schools away from him for incompetency. I believe that’s long overdue. Mulgrew will have to wrest his lips from Bill arse and plant them on Andy’s.

Anonymous said...

2:50
Why would we open the schools if somebody - even just one - might die from COVID-19?

If we have a vaccine and give it to every living person, essentially nobody will die.

Why rush back? Better safe than sorry.

My brother is a doctor and he says we would save thousands of lives from the seasonal flu if the schools were open in the summer (when the flu is least active) and closed in the winter (when flu is more active). The kids might not die but they are the carriers - sort of like this virus. We've learned a lesson from COVID-19 and now it is time to apply it.

Anonymous said...

because he said he will open all or nothing. he wants the conomy re-started, so that means all.

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew and Pallotta are quite used to having their noses up Cuomo's ass. Nothing new there.

As for schools opening prematurely, it's the economy stupid. We stay home, economy goes into deeper recession. Our daycare functions matter. We strike, we win you fools. Oh forget that thought.

Anonymous said...

It's the economy 3:29. Our lives don't matter.

Bronx ATR said...

The UFT should use deBlasio’s incompetence to 1. Wrest mayoral control away and back to a Board of Ed and 2. Curry favor with Cuomo in doing so. Layoffs are coming and deBlasio is done ( - he smells worse than that cabbage Boca Harry bought for his canceled St. Patrick’s Day party and just threw out).

Anonymous said...

Agree 3:55, there is alot of fear here on this blog. Bloggers here give the powers that be ideas on how to screw teachers. Whether it's back to soon , out to long, no raises, no retro, . When we should be on offense. Like why are Dave and Mike dead , your incompetent and need to be investigated, cause the incompetence has obviously reached criminal heights...train of thought here, but muh raises, muh retro, screw that , why are our workers dead? The deaths have happened, this isn't projecting what we don't want to happen (financially). People are dead and laying in refregerated trucks people. We have all the rights to want to know deBlasio kept UFT and students in schools long after they moved in to protect the Broadway crowd.

Anonymous said...

@3:29 PM - Your brother, the doctor, is a genius. The months that we should all have off are January and February and then move the vacation times. Move the February break to Memorial Day week. Perfect!

Anonymous said...

I’ll never forget or forgive deBlasio and Mulgrew instituting an expedited termination process for ATRs. Now it’s their time to be terminated expeditiously. How on Cuomo take de Blasio! Come on rank and file take Mulgrew!