Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo School Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash is frustrated by the two-week extensions of school cancellation being mandated by Governor Andrew Cuomo amidst the coronavirus outbreak and is doubtful classes will return this Spring.
"I don't see us coming back this year", said Cash in a virtual board work session Wednesday evening. Cash continued by adding that he can;t see classes resuming, "not in any safe way, not in any reasonable way". "I'll fight it", said Cash as he referenced any attempt by the state in requiring classes to return given the current circumstances.
Niagara Falls Schools Superintendent Mark Laurrie told WBEN Wednesday, "I would think that we're probably about 50/50 that we won't return at this point".
Cash told the board he feels the state acted late with regard to coronavirus response and is frustrated, saying, "We're behind this virus right now".
In addition to struggling with the school claendar, Cash is working to organize some 16,000 district laptops and get them in the hands of students grades 3 - 8 to ramp-up online learning. The laptops would also require the use of more than 20,000 wifi hotspots and the district is currenly only in posession of 2000.
Letters will be going to parents as soon as this week offering instruction on how to get posession of a laptop for home use.