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EPHS choir and band propose April 2026 Colorado tour; students to fund trip
Summary
Elmwood Park High School staff proposed a student choir and band trip to Colorado for April 23–27, 2026, at an estimated cost of $1,265 per student, with funding expected from student fundraisers and a third-party travel vendor.
Choir director Grant McKechn told the Elmwood Park CUSD 401 board on July 1 that Elmwood Park High School plans a student choir and band trip to Colorado from April 23–27, 2026. The trip would follow the district’s long-standing biennial touring tradition and is intended to expose students to music, performance and cultural opportunities outside Illinois.
McKechn said the per-student tour cost would be approximately $1,265 at quad-occupancy hotel rooms. The planned itinerary includes the U.S. Air Force Academy, clinics at the Air Force Academy and the University of Colorado Boulder, the Olympic and Paralympic Museum, Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods and a performance at Red Rocks Amphitheater.
The district presentation named Bob Rogers Travel as the preferred travel vendor; McKechn said the company handles collections, trip insurance and security staffing for overnight hotel coverage. He said the trip would seek about 50 students (filling one coach bus) and that students would be expected to pay through a combination of fundraisers and installment payments (McKechn described a schedule of approximately $200–$300 every two months as an example to keep families on a payment plan).
Board members asked about vendor selection, minimum/maximum participant counts and chaperone selection. McKechn said the vendor is preferred because it processes payments centrally and manages collections and insurance; he said a company-sourced security guard would provide overnight coverage so chaperones could rest while supervising students during daytime activities.
No board vote was recorded for the trip at the July 1 meeting; McKechn asked the board to consider the itinerary and recommended vendor so parent permission and fundraising could proceed.
