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Horseheads,NY - U.S. Representative Tom Reed (R-NY), Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats), Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning), Assemblyman Chris Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats), Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes (R,C-Caledonia) and Assemblyman Joseph Giglio (R,C,I-Gowanda) today joined regional education leaders to call on New York State to give area schools the go-ahead to begin implementing plans to reopen in September.

The New York State of Board of Regents and the State Education Department announced in late April the formation of a School Reopening Task Force to oversee school reopenings. In June, the task force held a series of virtual meetings with four Regional School Reopening Task Forces representing teachers, parents, administrators, school board members and non-instructional school personnel, among others, to gather input on the protocols that will then guide New York’s 700 local school districts in devising their reopening plans.

The group said School administrators across the area are relying on state officials to follow the plan it outlined and release its guidance as soon as possible.  They said despite the significant time, effort and professional input that has gone into the Regional School Reopening Task Forces, over the past week New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has reiterated that he alone will have the final say. On Monday, he said that the state Department of Health (DOH) and his own, previously formed Reimagine Education Advisory Council, are also working to develop “forthcoming” guidance, but gave no definitive timetable.

On Wednesday Cuomos said New York State will decide whether schools will reopen in the fall during the first week of August.  He said state officials are consulting with stakeholders on guidance, which will be finalized on July 13, and plans to reopen schools are due on July 31.

"We have been consulting all stakeholders on guidance for how a school would reopen in September. We have 700 school districts in this state, and they range from rural to urban to suburban areas. Localities are very involved in their schools and school decisions, so we have been meeting with them," Cuomo said. "During the first week of August, the state will announce a decision on whether or not those schools reopen, and we want to make that decision with the best available data because facts change here day to day and week to week. A week can be a lifetime with this virus because everything changes so quickly. The schools say they need a decision made by the end of the first week in August so they can then turn on the switches and get everything ready for September, and we'll look at the data in that first week and then we'll make a decision."

During a news conference today at the GST BOCES Bush Campus in Horseheads, area leaders stressed that schools need to start planning now to be ready for reopening in September and called on the governor to quickly release the necessary guidelines.

In a joint statement, Reed, O’Mara, Palmesano, Friend, Byrnes and Giglio said, “Our local county leaders, health professionals, educators, teachers and communities have demonstrated enormous dedication, discipline and responsibility throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our communities’ leaders have demonstrated they can be trusted with a careful and thorough reopening of schools that is focused on safety, first and foremost. No one cares more about the health and well-being of our students, families and school communities. What has been accomplished by administrators, teachers and parents to help students throughout this public health crisis has been remarkable. These efforts must continue to supplement ongoing instruction because in-person schooling is fundamentally important to the long-term health and well-being of our young people and their families. Nothing can replace our children being in school. It’s central to quality education, our ongoing economic recovery and the strength of our social fabric. Governor Cuomo needs to release the guidelines so that school administrators can get to work implementing a safe reopening for September. The governor can’t leave school districts, students, teachers and parents waiting until the final minute for guidance.”

Democrat Tracy Mitrano, who is challenging Reed in the next election, charged that Reed is politicizing the reopening of schools at the expense of children, teachers, and school staff. She accused Reed of parroting President Trump "because he is the honorary chair to the Trump reelection campaign in New York State."

“For the safety of our teachers, administrators and employees as well as for the children and their parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents, we need to put safety first. I do not hear Tom Reed saying that," Mitrano charged. “Individual classrooms, schools and school districts do not operate in isolation! Is there going to be funding for teachers to have PPE? Are students issued PPE when they come in the door? What are the protocols? Maybe you could set something up for high-schoolers, but have you ever heard of kindergartners not touching their teacher?"

The group highlighted the success of the regional COVID-19 response, praising the work of local officials and the ongoing cooperation of local citizens and communities to follow the safety guidelines recommended to stop the spread of the coronavirus and demonstrate the feasibility of safe reopening. The group also noted that the knowledge and experience gained over the past several months leaves them confident about developing and implementing safe school reopening plans for September – if, they stressed, the state releases the necessary protocols and gives school districts ample time to thoroughly prepare their facilities and staff.

National experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), have emphasized the importance of returning to in-person school.

Testifying before Congress recently, Fauci said, “I feel very strongly we need to do whatever we can to get the children back to school.”

The AAP has put forth a detailed school reopening blueprint that “strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.” The academy adds that “the importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020.”

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