Parents, students, teachers and staff waiting for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's announcement on the upcoming school year say their top priority is safety, and that they want classrooms and those in them to be out of harm's way.
Nassau BOCES Superintendent Robert Dillon says right now, the plans the district has submitted center around a safe school environment, with measures in place to keep it as sanitized as possible.
The governor's office is currently weighing the plans, which were due from the districts Friday. Cuomo will decide to keep kids at home or school full-time, or a mix of the two.
"My mom's a teacher and she's actually retiring this year because she doesn't want to go back to school and deal with it, especially being around all of the young kids," says Taylor Smith.
"I think it's always a little concerning for everybody, I think those concerns are legitimate," says Susan Dittmar, of Farmingdale.
Julie Lutz, with Eastern Suffolk BOCES, says coming up with a testing protocol was not something districts were asked to include in reopening plans. She says the question superintendents in her districts get asked the most is about face coverings.
"Who is going to be wearing masks, are students going to be wearing masks? Are staff going to be wearing masks?" says Lutz.
Lutz says parent input was key in developing the reopening plans -- and superintendents will continue to reach out to parents, between now and September. She also says two of her districts requested extensions to submit plans. One is Sagaponak, because of an influx of new students, the other was came from a superintendent who is dealing with a personal matter.
An official decision is expected by the end of the week. Cuomo has said that schools should prepare to reopen.
Cuomo has recommended that districts communicate virtually with parents about their plans.
"I encourage every school district, set up a discussion room now, start explaining to the parents now, have those conversations now," says Cuomo.