The office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo claims that the Manhasset, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park, Mineola and Garden City school districts are among 107 in the state that have not yet submitted models for in-person learning that were due July 31.
In a statement issued with the list on Monday, Cuomo said the districts’ in-person plans will be due Friday, with districts that fail to meet the deadline unable to provide in-person learning this year.
“There are 107 school districts that have not submitted their plan – for those 107 school districts, how they didn’t submit a plan is beyond me. If they don’t submit a plan by this Friday, they can’t open,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The governor said that the districts, like all districts in the state, are required to complete three to five public sessions with parents and teachers, and post their plans for remote learning, testing and tracing on their website by Aug. 21 to be in compliance with standards established by the state.
The Mineola, Manhasset, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park and Garden City schools all have their plans displayed online.
Mineola Superintendent Michael Nagler disputed the claim that his district did not submit the plans, telling Blank Slate Media in an email that the district submitted its plan on July 17 and received a receipt. A further statement from Nagler noted that the plans have been posted online since July 31.
“From when closed in March right through today, the Mineola Union Free School District has understood that the process of reopening would involve extensive community outreach,” Nagler said. “Our district has employed several means of engaging our community stakeholders in conversation about how to reopen safely. We have conducted five parent surveys and held multiple virtual meetings for both our parents and our staff. We did so before Gov. Cuomo announced Friday that school districts were required to do so. We are thankful for working for such a supportive community and our plans reflect their input.”
A media representative for the Manhasset school district said that the district had submitted its plans.
Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, stood by the list’s validity in a statement issued Monday afternoon.
“The list of districts that didn’t file a plan with the state Department of Health is accurate,” Azzopardi said. “Despite clear guidance provided to these schools, which included a link to the [Department of Health] 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.”
Efforts to reach the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park and Garden City school districts for comment were unavailing.
