Sunday, May 24, 2009

This explains the reluctance to close the schools

From the NY Post:

Swine-flu school closures could shrink New York City's state aid.

Since the outbreak began in April, 42 public schools and programs have closed for up to six days, meaning classes will not be in session for the state-mandated 180 days.

The Department of Education could be docked a fraction of its aid for each missing day if the time is not made up.

City and state education officials refused to estimate how much money city schools could lose.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This has ALWAYS been the case.

The city schools don't shut down actually for 2 reasons. The first is to avoid that loss in aid from the state. The second is to keep the schools open serving as a daycare for working parents.

Detective McNutty said...

Your so right about schools being daycare. Parents are so lazy about raising their children. They expect schools to help raise their kids. That is why when I see a rude child, I blame it on some lazy parent.

I never hear the expression "latch key kids" anymore. What is so wrong with leaving kids at home alone while they close schools. I was left home alone with my sister all the time. We never blew up the house.

Anonymous said...

As usual it's all about money. How about it being about the children? Why can't these people put our children first? If children die from swine flu, is the city and state responsible because they didn't close the schools? How about a waiver regarding funds for schools that had to close? I'd rather have the schools close than have a pandemic on our hands. How much do you think that would cost the city and state? By the way, the Board of Ed should be reminded that their function is to educate our children -- not babysit them. Let these parents arrange for child care. That is their responsibility, not the Board of Educations's.

Anonymous said...

FYI - it's not called the Board of Ed. anymore. It's the Department of Education.

McNuts - Were you and your sister toddlers when you were left alone? I hope not.

georgetheatheist said...

"We never blew up the house."

Are you kidding? Mea culpa. When I was in the 7th grade in grammar school (Catholic grammar school as well), on a religious day off when Mom had to work, I accompanied some classmates to Harlem where we bought illegal firecrackers. When I got home I set one of them off in the bathtub. Ka-boom! There was a burn mark on the tub which I hastily washed off. I opened all the windows to get rid of the gunpowder smell before Mater came home.

Mea maxima culpa.

Anonymous said...

I was babysitting younger siblings alone in the house at ten. Of course, my next door neighbor was across the fence and other neighbors were feet away if I got into any trouble.

Today you would be arrested for that.

Anonymous said...

Swine flu linked to Smithfield Foods factory farm?
hog_farm.Grist Magazine online has a must-read story by North Carolina-based food editor Tom Philpott examining a possible link between the outbreak of swine flu and Smithfield Foods of Virginia, the world's largest pork producer and processor.

The outbreak of this particular strain of flu, which is caused by virus found in pigs, originated in the Mexican state of Veracruz, where Smithfield subsidiary Granjas Carroll raises about a million hogs a year, Philpott reports.