BUFFALO (WBEN) - As Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein were inside the Rath Building Tuesday giving their weekly COVID update, about 20 parents and children were outside calling for the immediate full reopening of schools.
"As parents, we're just fed up," said Rebecca Gallivan, whose kids are in the Clarence school district. "I think the point of being here today is to stand up for our children who deserve to be in school full-time five days a week."
The already loud calls for schools to bring more students back to the classroom amplified even more last week, as the CDC issued revised guidance saying schools can safely open with three feet of social distancing between students instead of six.
"There's nothing more important in the world than our children, and there's nothing more important in the world than their futures," said Jennifer Liberti-Bemis. "I'm not saying that I know all the answers as far as what is safe and what isn't, but if we can figure out how people can go into a restaurant and have a glass of wine ans sit by a stranger for two hours, or you can go and get a pedicure for two hours and sit by a stranger, then why can't my child get an education that she deserves?"
Poloncarz has previously stated that Erie County will follow state guidelines when it comes to reopening schools - something that he reiterated at Tuesday's briefing.
"The New York State Department of Health and the New York State Department of Education issues the rules and guidelines for schools," said Poloncarz.
"I've talked to an attorney that I know who does a lot of school legal work, and his response was, 'If the schools go before New York State, they're putting themselves at risk such that their insurance will no longer cover them in case there's an illness or, God forsake it, a death as a result of what happens in the school.'"
Poloncarz noted that they are expecting clarification from the state on social distancing guidelines in the near future.
"It's safe, but politics are in the way, and it needs to stop," said Gallivan. "These kids need to be in school; it's affecting their well-being and their mental health. We've had enough...enough is enough."
