8 Local Districts Haven't Submitted Reopening Plans: Cuomo

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Several school districts in the Hudson Valley are among the 107 listed as having not yet submitted reopening plans to New York state, according to a list published by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office Monday.

But at least one is on there in error, its superintendent told Patch.

On Monday, state officials sent out a list of the 107 districts that included:

• Beacon
• Bedford
• Garrison
• Hendrick Hudson
• Middletown
• Nyack
• Poughkeepsie
• Valley Central

Hen Hud should not be on that list, Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter said.

"Hendrick Hudson received confirmation that all reopening plans were submitted and approved on July 31 and August 5. All plans are on our website," he told Patch. "That confirmation was sent to the State a moment ago as we believe we are on this 'list' in error."

Senior Advisor to the Governor Rich Azzopardi insisted at 3:36 p.m. Monday that the list was accurate — that it was a list of districts that didn't file their plan with the state Department of Health.

"Despite clear guidance provided to these schools, which included a link to the DOH portal, some districts in follow-up calls said they filed with the State Education Department - which is not an executive agency - but didn't file with DOH," he said in a news release. "Others filled out an affirmation certifying that they would be abiding by the state's reopening guidance, but didn't actually submit their plan, something many of these districts are now rectifying."

Cuomo discussed the missing plans with reporters Monday morning. Those that don't have their plans submitted by Friday won't be allowed to reopen. Plus, they must have at least three virtual meetings with parents and a separate one with teachers before they can reopen.

"Maybe they just determined they don't want to open, which is the logical conclusion," Cuomo mused. "But if they want to open, they need to submit."

Cuomo repeated his belief that parents and teachers, not the state, will be the ultimate arbiters of whether districts have safe reopening plans.

Here's information from their websites from the eight districts:

• Beacon sent out a form to families last week asking for their instructional preference. The forms are due back Aug. 14. Find more info on the website.
• Bedford has two "town hall" meetings for parents this week: 7 p.m. Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, to be followed by a Board of Education meeting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. There is a questionnaire for parents on the website, as well as a look at the plan proposed.
• Garrison has a plan on its website.
• Hen Hud has a section of its website devoted to the topic.
• Middletown has a parent/caregiver Town Hall at 6 p.m. Wednesday. On Aug. 7, Superintendent Richard Del Moro, wrote an update for the community on the website and provided a link to the plan. "All students, grades K-12, will begin the school year working in a remote instructional environment," he said. "We will continue to move safely forward and will use our phased timeline to bring students back for face-to-face instruction within our buildings beginning in October. Our full timeline is available within our plan."
• Nyack rescheduled a community meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday on the district's re-entry plan.
• Poughkeepsie has a town hall meeting set for 4:30 p.m. Monday. Its website on re-opening includes parent resources and a survey.
• Valley Central has a virtual town hall scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting will be livestreamed on the district Youtube channel and will be available on the channel to view. The district's plan is on the website here.