De Blasio Brushes Off NYC School Reopening 'Confusion'

NEW YORK CITY — Six days before New York City schools begin an ambitious reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio dismissed growing concerns from educators unions.

"I honestly ... do not believe there’s a lot of confusion," he said Tuesday. "Friendly reminder everyone, the Department of Education, City Hall, we are the people (who) provide the services to our parents and our kids. And we’ve made very clear what all the preparations have been, we’ve been talking about it for weeks and weeks."

Friendly reminder or no, De Blasio's comment provided a sharp contrast to the picture of dysfunction and lack of communication painted by United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew during a Monday teleconference.

Mulgrew, backed by the accounts of two teachers, talked about pervasive staffing problems snarling in-person and remote learning schedules. He also raised concerns over coronavirus testing.

"If you ask me if we are ready to open today, I would say we are not," Mulgrew said.

De Blasio's answer in response to a question from Wall Street Journal reporter Katie Honan also emphasized the "weeks and weeks" of communication about preparations for the return to classrooms.

But Department of Education data shows more and more parents opted their children into remote learning-only plans during those weeks and weeks.

Roughly 42 percent of city students will be fully remote, according to data released this week. It was 30 percent when school officials began providing the breakdown of remote versus blended learning students in August.

Schools are scheduled to reopen Sept. 21.