XPost: alt.education, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.coronavirus
XPost: sac.politics
From: nancy-pelosi-failures@speaker.gov

Topline: New York City’s public school system, the largest in the
country, will remain closed for the rest of the school year due to the
spread of coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Saturday—a claim which
was immediately disputed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

De Blasio’s announcement decrees that the nation’s largest public school
system, with more than 1.1 million people and about 1,800 schools, will go
without regular schooling for more than three months, until September.
The decision was made out of caution for students, faculty and staff, de
Blasio said, as the coronavirus continues to spread across the city and
state of New York.

In his own press conference later on Saturday morning, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo was quick to dispute the claim, saying that “there has been
no decision” and that it was just de Blasio’s “opinion.”

Cuomo said he has the authority to reverse the move, and as far as he’s
concerned, the decision hasn’t been made: “I understand the mayor’s
position,” he said, but added, “it makes no sense for one locality to
take an action that doesn’t coordinate with the others.

Key background: As school systems around the country began to close last
month amid a rising number of Covid-19 cases, Mayor de Blasio had faced
mounting pressure from elected city officials, public health experts,
teachers and parents urging him to do the same. Despite being initially
reluctant, he eventually shut the public schools until late April on March
16, and has now extended that closure until the next academic year. New
York schools shifted to remote learning on March 23, but educators and
students have struggled to adjust: Attendance in online classes has been
an issue, de Blasio said last week, though the city is yet to release any
official data.

What to watch for: Closing down New York City’s school system presents
its own set of challenges, however, given that some 750,000 students live
at or below the poverty line. Many such students rely on free or
discounted meals at school, not to mention don’t have access to the
internet or computers at home.

Crucial statistics: New York state is the global epicenter of the
coronavirus pandemic, with over 170,000 cases reported so far—more than
any country in the world—and nearly 8,000 deaths. New York City alone has
almost 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Crucial quote: “There’s nothing easy about this decision,” Mayor de
Blasio said during a press briefing.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/04/11/new-york-city-
mayor-de-blasio-says-schools-will-stay-closed-until-september-but-cuomo-
immediately-disputes-it/#2a360e303c44

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
 * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)