Gov. Cuomo Signs Order to Withhold Funding From Any Schools That Remain Open In Red Zones

   In a new executive order issued tonight, Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrote that for the “protection of public health,” he is now withholding funds from any public or private school that violates the intensified restrictions he set forth last Tuesday.

  The executive order says that the governor will withhold any funds that he appropriated in his 2020 fiscal year budget to schools. Gov. Cuomo also said that he will only withhold schools' funds throughout the durations of their non-compliance with his health protocols.

 Gov. Cuomo wrote that his executive order was written “in recognition of the extreme consequences [that could result from] failure to adhere to the restrictions set forth in his March 7 executive order form which he “declared a state disaster emergency for the state of New York.”

    For the state’s red zones, those with the currently highest spikes of rates of COVID positivity, last Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo immediately required the closure of all schools, non-essential businesses, take-out only in restaurants, and the reduction of maximum occupancy of houses of worship to 25%/10 person maximum occupancy.

    In his executive order tonight, Gov. Cuomo also wrote that “both travel-related cases and community contact transmission of COVID-19 have been documented in New York state and are expected to continue.”

(Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)