Public school superintendents in four Western New York counties are asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to provide an exit strategy for schools to plan for a "post-crisis" period.
"Your recognition of the need to move schools from the emergency phase of Covid-19 to a time when the presence of the virus no longer completely disrupts the school experience is both refreshing and essential," states the letter signed by 38 school superintendents in Erie and Niagara counties.
The letter from the Erie Niagara School Superintendents Association notes that the emergency regulation allowing the mask mandate to go into effect late last year is scheduled to expire Feb. 21.
"Providing advance notice of this critical off-ramp will give students, their families and our staff time to prepare for a post-crisis period of time when we have the opportunity to exercise discretion about mask use in schools on our own behalf," the superintendents wrote.
People are also reading…
The mask mandate was struck down last week by a State Supreme Court justice in Nassau County, but the Appellate Division, Second Department, granted New York State a stay on that ruling pending the state's appeal.
On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul extended the requirement to wear face masks in all indoor public places unless the business or venue implements a Covid-19 vaccine requirement. She said the requirement would be reviewed in two-week increments.
The letter notes that students, staff and families have implemented a "constantly changing mosaic" of strategies to mitigate Covid-19 and to make sure schools are safe places.
The superintendents praised to governor for supporting the test-to-stay program after calls from educators and others for the program last fall.
"While school aged populations have experienced the mildest health related symptoms associated with Covid-19, they have also suffered the most under the weight of Covid-related restrictions and requirements," the 38 superintendents wrote.
Thirteen superintendents in Genesee and Orleans counties released a letter of their own, telling the governor that the state's "one size fits all" rules caused "unnecessary challenges" in their predominantly rural schools.
"As the pandemic transitions to become endemic, those unnecessary challenges are becoming more acute," their letter said.
A survey of school superintendents in Erie County in the fall and again in December found that school districts spend a total of about 2,000 hours a week, on average, doing contact tracing, case investigations and notifications of quarantines.
The superintendents asked the governor and state Health Department to fully restore local control to school districts because the needs of each region differ.
"We respectfully request for you and the NYSDOH to develop appropriate guidance for an exit strategy regarding all mitigation measures, but not mandates; and we request for local control be fully restored to our school districts to enable us to make decisions appropriate for our individual communities, in consultation with our local DOH," the Genesee and Orleans superintendents wrote.
