Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are at odds over whether public schools should be shuttered for the rest of the academic year to curb the coronavirus. De Blasio said Saturday New York City schools will be closed through June and the usual start of summer vacation. But Cuomo swiftly responded that the decision was his to make. The governor says school closings would have to be coordinated with districts surrounding the city.
"I understand the Mayor's position, which is he wants to close (schools) through June. We may do that. But we're going to do that in a coordinated sense with other localities," Cuomo said. "It makes no sense for one locality to take an action that is not coordinated with the others."
For now, all schools in New York are closed through April 29th.
Later Saturday, County Executive Mark Poloncarz agreed the decision on reopening schools is at the discretion of the governor.