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McMahon Criticizes School Districts With Hybrid Plans For Leaving Childcare In Limbo

Jordan-Elbridge Central School District
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Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon is disappointed in many of the county’s school district reopening plans. At a briefing Friday, McMahon said his office had asked schools to at least bring elementary school students back 5 days a week.

With the hybrid options that were proposed, children would still have to be at home for portions of the week. McMahon said that’s ignoring the childcare issues that it could present.

“Because right now, they’re just passing the buck, really what it looks like is to the county government, saying ‘You’re going to have to figure that out.’ Or to the parents and the tax payers who pay the bills. You’re going to have to figure out how to watch the kids. So we’ve got work to do. We really do.”

McMahon said he understand people have fear, but plans should better align with the data. Right now, Onondaga County has an infection of under 1 %. The state requires districts to have infection rates under 5% to open in any capacity. The County Executive said the schools haven’t thought about the economic repercussions on the larger community if young children are not able to be in school.

“I get it. They’re having to do something that they’ve never had to do. But they’re looking at it through their lens of their operation. Not the community at large. We can’t act like that during a pandemic. We need to look at how it impacts everything.”

McMahon did name Jordan-Elbridge and OCM BOCES as plans he thought were well done. All district plans are subject to state approval.

Katie Zilcosky is WAER’s All Things Considered host and features reporter. She also co-hosts WAER’s public affairs show Syracuse Speaks. As a reporter, she focuses on technology, economy, and identity.