A few will need this.
POTTSTOWN PA – Education never goes out of style, and travel is fun. Put them together and, in the Pottsgrove School District, it generates an itinerary a travel agent might envy.
Beginning this July, and continuing through the following 12 months, 12 different student excursions have been authorized by the district Board of School Directors. That’s two fewer than the current school year. For all but one, noted below, all expenses are paid by participating students, Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis reported.
Several are to sports-related camps. Three involve the district chapters of Delta Epsilon Chi (DECA), an international association of students interested in marketing careers. A few more exotic locales offer cultural value.
Authorization of such travel is an exercise that appears annually on the board’s agenda. It unanimously and without comment approved these future jaunts during its meeting last Tuesday (May 10, 2011) at Pottsgrove High School, Kauffman Road, Pottstown PA. The destinations, listed in bold type and in dated order, are:
- Gettysburg PA, July 30-Aug. 3, 2011. Boys Soccer camp at Gettysburg College; cost $350 per person.
- Preston Park PA, Aug. 21-26, 2011. Football camp at Camp Wayne; cost $225 per person.
- Elverson PA, Aug. 24-26, 2011. Boys and girls cross-country camp at French Creek State Park; cost $30 per person.
- Altoona PA, Nov. 10-12, 2011. Middle School student government to PASC state conference, cost $110 per person.
- Philadelphia PA, Nov. 18-20, 2011. DECA Southern and North Atlantic Regional Conference, $300 per person.
- Hershey PA, Feb. 22-24, 2012. DECA state career trip; cost $250 per person.
- Italy and Greece, March 27-April 5, 2012. Cost $3,022 per person.
- Wallops Island VA, April 22-25, 2012. Advanced Biology Trip; cost $375 per person.
- Salt Lake City UT, April 22-May 2, 2012. DECA International Trip, about $1,000 per student, paid for by the district. As in the past, this particular trip involves a limited number (4) of students and is being treated the same as an athletic team traveling to competition in another state.
- Orlando FL, May 29-June 2, 2012. Senior class trip; cost $1,099 per person.
- Kutztown PA, July 14-17, 2012. Girls basketball camp at Kutztown University; cost $240 per person.
- Latin America, 2012 dates to be determined. High school trip; estimated at $3,000 per person.
Inflation has hit the travel business too, most likely in the increased costs of fuel. Of local and regional trips that repeat from last year, per-person costs rose by between $5 and $15 per person. Some longer distance trips have risen substantially more.
Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ May 10 meeting):
- Pottsgrove 2012 Travels Include Italy, Latin America
- School Board OKs Personnel Items Affecting 25 Positions
- Does Pottsgrove Have An Administrative Cut-In-Waiting?
- Red And Yellow Items Left On Pottsgrove Budget Table
- Pottsgrove OKs 2.8% Tax Hike In Tentative Budget
- Teachers’ Contract Extension On Pottsgrove Agenda
My daughter was supposed to do the France trip in April 2011 but the school “let go” of the French teacher, consequently the trip was canceled. Although the tour company refunded most of the money, it did not refund the insurance portion of the trip. I approached Mr Nester, business administrator (no response) and the school Superintendent Brad Landis about a refund.
Since the school canceled the trip, and not myself or daughter, I felt they should step up and cover the insurance portion of my loss. The school felt different and now I would be hesitant to schedule another trip.
Thumbs down to Mr. Nester and Mr. Landis