Listening to pleas by parents, Lake Orion School Board members on March 26 decided not to cancel upcoming student trips to Washington DC.
Eighth graders from the three middle schools are scheduled to travel to the nation’s capitol in April. Because of the Iraq war and US being under a code orange homeland security alert, school district officials were worried about the safety of Washington.
According to LO School Superintendent Dr. Craig Younkman, he has been in daily contact with Homeland Security.
“The level orange in DC is different than it is in this county,” he said. “Right now there’s no fly zone. The Capitol (building) is closed. There’s increased security in DC where the children are visiting.
“And there’s a number of protests with large groups. It’s an unpredictable environment.”
A straw poll of parents who had students going on the trip was done shortly before the school board meeting. It was divided about 50-50 on whether the parents were still going to let their children travel.
Most parents at the school board meeting believed the decision to let the students go to Washington should be made by parents, not the school board.
“Bush said to carry on with trips as always,” Madonna VanFossen said. “DC is probably one of the safest places in the US.
“We shouldn’t live in fear because of the war. And you (school board members) don’t have the right to tell us where we can go. You have to represent us and the majority of us don’t want to cancel. My son and his friends want to go.”
I trust the security that’s in place,’ Constance Bierschbach said. “This is important to the kids. We can’t let terrorists run our lives.
“We as a family need to make this decision. I don’t have to send my child if I don’t want to. They’re not saying it’s unsafe to travel.”
Laurie Galuardi agreed. “I’d be more worried if the sniper was still on the loose.”
School board member Mary Jo Burchart wanted to know what liability the school district would have if anything happened to the students.
“We have to ask what ifs,” she said. “This is a school sponsored event and we are a litigious society.
According to Dr. Younkman, the school district’s insurance has some limits and the district would have some liability, but it’s probably capped.
“I don’t want to be morally obligated if we let them go. This is not like 9/11. This country is at war. If there’s any retaliation, it won’t happen here. It will happen in New York or Washington DC,” school board member Tina Peterson said. Her daughter is scheduled to go on the trip.
Peterson said parents are telling her they’re not going to send their child regardless of the school board’s decision.
Julie Hill, a parent, told school board members she wasn’t in favor of letting the trip go on. “You can’t guarantee my daughter’s safety. I don’t care about a couple of hundred dollars,” she added.
A number of parents didn’t buy cancelation insurance. Dr. Younkman said he’s working with Travel Adventures to reduce the amount parents would have to pay if they decide their child will not go on the trip.
“I thought we said last year that parents who opt out (of trips) should be held harmless. They shouldn’t have to pay any money,” board member Bob Gritzinger said.
The school board had a meeting shortly after the terrorists attack on the World Trade Center. It decided not to cancel any school trips then, but wanted to make sure that in case of more terrorist problems, parents could change their minds and not be held financial responsible.
“That was 9/11. They (Travel Adventures) is trying to accommodate everyone without going out of business. There’s always some financial loss — the deposit, insurance,” Dr. Younkman said.
School board member Jim Weidman asked other board members if they could take another look at whether the school district should even be sponsoring any trips.