BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - There is more confusion for schools as the New York State Education Department has issued recommendations for the 2021-22 school year.
The guidelines fall in line with the CDC recommendations, calling for
staff, students and visitors at all K-12 schools to wear a mask.
It follows remarks by governor-to-be Kathy Hochul who waded into the intensifying debate on COVID and schools in an interview on the TODAY Show Thursday, saying that while she's not governor yet, it's her "opinion" that everyone in schools, students and staff alike, should be wearing masks.
"My view is that, children and everyone in a school environment, will be wearing masks. That's just an opinion right now, I don't have the authority to make that the policy. "I believe that there will end up being mask mandates, I just don't have the authority at this moment."
Hochul takes office August 24 and the mandate could come as soon as her first day in office.
"We're trying to be patient," said Michael Cornell, President of the Erie Niagara School Superintendent's Association. "We've got an extraordinary circumstance with a new governor taking office in eleven days. We have good reason to think that she'll empower her state agencies differently than the current governor." Cornell is also waiting for the Erie County Department of Health to weigh in as well as the New York State Department of Health.
Cornell added, "what's really important to school districts is the common refrain and commitment to having all kids in-school five days a week, and having normal operating schools with lunch in the cafeteria and gym class. It's developmentally critical so we can educate the whole child with clubs and sports and we'll be patient on some of the other issues that have yet to be decided."
Niagara Falls School Superintendent Mark Laurrie said his district was just about ready to release a plan for back to school, but it took a side turn when they heard the governor-to-be and the State Education Department.
"These comments at this time of year start to cloud people's thinking and adds to confusion. We need someone to make a statement, once and for all, that it is the responsibility of the schools, or, that it is coming down from the governor or State Education Department office.
We asked Cornell if school districts still have the final say on recommendations? "It's unclear," he answered. "We have to take a wait and see approach. We can plan based on the things that we know and control what we can control. And wait on things that we may not be able to control."
Cornell said if we learned anything during the pandemic, it's important that we be ready for anything. "Fortunately parents and children have learned to live in a "vuca" world; an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
"I told my families, in a letter this week, that we would give them another update the week of August 23." Cornell said that should be enough time to plan for whatever they have to adapt to. Laurrie said Niagara Falls City schools start Monday, August 30, with fall sports practice, and we need information sooner rather than later.
