Serving Great Neck, G.N. Plaza, G.N. Estates, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston
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Friday, August 7, 2020
Vol. 95, No. 32
TOWN APPEALS GOP LEGISLATORS BACK HATE-CRIME BILL FOR COPS EXTENET RULING PAGE 26
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BILL OK OK’d ’d TO COMBAT RACIAL STEERING IN HOME SALES PAGE 8
Cuomo set to rule on school openings Governor expected to decide this week on policy for return to classes BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Gov. Andrew Cuomo was expected to decide this week whether schools throughout the state will be permitted to reopen in the fall, but he said on Monday he trusts parents more than any other affected stakeholder. “Just because the school district says, ‘You shouldn’t worry about your child’s public health,’ that’s not going to be enough,” Cuomo said. “Not in this environment. Not when you’re dealing with situations that everybody knows that nobody has the facts. Parents are going to want to understand the information for themselves.” Cuomo advised all of New York’s more than 700 school districts to safely meet with parents and create an environment where questions and concerns can be asked and answered. “Set up a discussion room now, start explaining to the parents now, have those conversations now, you
can’t call people into a conference room but you can invite them on to a video chat or onto a chat room, but they have questions and they need answers and time is short,” Cuomo said. “That should start now because the parents are going to make the decision.” In Great Neck, a coalition of concerned parents has already given some proof to Cuomo’s claim by creating an online petition imploring the public school district to offer their children an in-person education five days a week. “As parent advocates, we demand that the district commit to delivering a comprehensive program that includes standards to ensure that our children receive more than a half-hearted apology from the Board of Education and an empty pledge from the Superintendent for failing to provide them with an exceptional educational program in the spring,” the petition reads. Continued on Page 34
PHOTO BY ED CONDON, JR.
A tree leans on a house following the wind storm Tuesday in Port Washington. See story on page 6.
School district submits reopening plan to state BY R OB E RT PELAEZ The Great Neck school district announced its options for the 2020-21 school year as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic, including one for parents to have their children taught on a strictly remote platform. The 40-page plan does not specifically mention what the initial routine for students will
be starting on Sept. 2, the first day of school, but a remote option was provided for all students, according to district Superintendent Teresa Prendergast. Continued on Page 35
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