As the city’s 1.1 million school kids head back to class today, all eyes will be on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ambitious expansion of universal pre-kindergarten.
But some pre-k students won’t have anywhere to go.
The program’s expansion has been a major goal of the mayor’s first term in office.
But in the rush to get things up and running there were some last minute problems.
The city shut down nine facilities that were were supposed to accommodate 265 students.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the mayor said the decision was made over health and safety issues.
“The paramount concern is getting it right, making sure these sites are ready to go, that they are up to code, that they’re safe, that they’re healthy, that everything is in place for our children. So, nine sites will not open this year; 36 sites are experiencing a delay. In many of those cases that delay will amount to 2 days and those sites will be open Monday,” De Blasio said.
Parents of students at Chelsea Prep spoke to NY1 on Thursday and say they really support the mayor’s plan.
“He is really on board with trying to get a lot of schools open for the kids and working parents. I think he’s awesome,” said one parent.
“I think the mayor is doing a good job. So far so good,” said another parent.
More than 51,000 pre-k students will be going to school for the first time this year.
That’s 30,000 more than last year.
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