BUFFALO (WBEN) - On Friday, Governor Cuomo announced that schools will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year, saying there are too many factors to safely make a reopening plan.In fact, Niagara Falls superintendent Mark Laurrie has a difficult time seeing schools reopening in the fall - at least in the traditional sense.
"I would be very surprised if we resume school in September the way we left school on March 13," he said. "Hopeful but very shocked, I would say, to expect to return to school in the same way we left it."
Laurrie discussed some potential changes that may need to be considered, including a possible every other day rotation, eating in classrooms, no large assemblies or gathering in groups larger than 10-15 students, and he even believes fall sports may be in jeopardy.
Buffalo Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash echoed much of what Laurrie had to say, and he added that a lot of health-centric measures will surely need to be taken."We're going to have to make sure that we test everybody; we're going to have to take the temperature of all staff coming in the morning, all students coming in the morning - that could increase the time before we even start class," said Cash. "We're going to have to figure out how school, by definition a social gathering place, how do we make sure students stay apart, vastly apart?"Cash doesn't see smaller class sizes as a viable option due to cost, but he noted that they will have to go to great lengths to make sure students and staff have the proper protection in terms of PPE.
