Board of Ed not ready to OK three Darien field trips

Written by Susan Shultz
Monday, 02 November 2009 09:42

Three field trips presented at Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting were sent back to the drawing board after members had questions.

The first, a trip to Peru, was rejected on the basis of the cost. It would be scheduled for February break and would cost the students approximately $4,000.

Board member Morgan Whittier said off the bat he would not support it due to the cost.

“We’re excluding a good part of the school population,” he said.

Board secretary Clara Sartori also suggested the trip might be too much during the hard economic times. She said other kids would have to miss out.

Board member Heather Shea wondered about the political climate in Peru and Secondary Schools Superintendent Steve Falcone said that according to the research the administration had done, it would be fine.

Chairman John Boulton asked why the trip needed to be a field trip rather than an organized vacation, in which case the board would not need to approve it.

Board members pointed out that there are other trips organized by faculty members during vacations independently.

Board member Jim Plutte agreed the trip sounded great but it should be a privately organized vacation. Shea said that if that was the case, the schools would have to be careful about how the materials would be presented.

The second trip, the annual Shanghai exchange student trip, was sent back for review because it only includes that exchange student class.

Board members pointed out that there are classes in Mandarin Chinese that students have taken for several years at this point, so this trip should be open to them as well.

The last trip, a lacrosse trip to Haverford, Pa., was sent back as well. Shea asked about the donation process and whether it was fair that only varsity got to go on the trip.

The district administration will return the field trips discussion to the board after more research.

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