Are you really implying that the tens of thousands of Jewish families in NY who would otherwise send their Bachurim, boys and girls in yeshiva/school no problem, shouldn't even arrange some sort of "basement" alternative - which to my knowledge can't and won't trigger a withholding of school funds - just and wholly because it may provoke the animal (Coumo), as you say "Leaving the health issues aside"? You know very well that these schools can't run via zoom, and we know too well that class phone conferencing is a little to none alternative, even if it would have been shayech to set it up properly.
I'm sorry, but there's only a certain price one would pay to calm down the animal, and keeping the bachurim and boys 2 weeks without proper Torah learning, and the rest of nudgy kids at home driving the entire family insane, isn't it.
I won't pretend to have an answer to the school dilemma. I freely admit that I'm more analyst than idea-man. But not having a better answer doesn't make the basement schools a good idea. When this gets out, and it will, and it coincides with a large wave in NY, we will be blamed and have no viable defense, because the optics are indefensible. This isn't just about right now, or funding for this year. This has the ability to derail the frum agenda in NY for years and years to come. This has the ability to ratchet up the hate and division with our neighbors to unprecedented levels. This has the ability to cause real, physical harm, in ways which we had only begun to get a glimpse of over the last few years.
If you think this is just about Cuomo or DeBlasio, you're wrong. They are just the tip of the iceberg. We don't have many friends in legislature. Most of the ones who give us the time of day will be more than happy to throw us to the wolves if public sentiment is on their side. As someone else (
@aygart ?) said, the up and comers on the left make the current crop look moderate. And we
do need friends in legislature. Crises in housing, poverty, and school funding will be joined by attacks on metzitza, kaparos, shchita, batei din, and other things we value greatly. We're playing with fire here.