Winona schools brief board on March 2026 music trip to Florida and fall FFA trip to Indianapolis

District staff presented two planned student trips — a March 2026 music trip to Florida that will combine band, orchestra and choir, and a fall FFA trip to the National Convention in Indianapolis scheduled for Oct. 29–Nov. 1.

On the Florida music trip, a staff presenter told the board the ensembles plan to fly rather than bus and estimated the projected cost per student at about $1,600. “That compares to $1,400 two years ago,” the presenter said, citing inflation and additional activity time as reasons for the increase. The presenter said the travel agency handling arrangements is based in Duluth and that the group expects to use commercial flights (Sun Country was mentioned as an option) rather than a single charter.

Board members and parents asked about fundraising, transportation within Florida and lodging. A director noted that “$200 is a significant amount of money” for some students and asked historically how much families cover through fundraising. The presenter said fundraising is largely family-specific — “Each individual family … has to make the choice about how aggressive they wanna be in fundraising efforts.” The presenter also said the group held a parent information meeting and that local bus transportation and contracted Florida ground transportation are expected to be arranged through the travel agency; lodging plans will keep students off Disney property to reduce cost.

The FFA trip to Indianapolis was described as an annual request. Staff said funding for the FFA trip is braided through the FFA alumni, the district foundation and the chapter itself, leaving an estimated out-of-pocket cost of about $100 per student. The presenter said the busing for the Indianapolis trip has in past years been arranged in partnership with neighboring districts to keep per-student transport costs low; the current plan anticipates similar partnerships for a small number of students.

Why it matters: Field trips that require significant out-of-pocket costs and fundraising have equity implications, and choices about flying versus driving change both cost and time students spend on activities versus travel. Board members asked for more detail on fundraising distribution, in-state ground transportation and insurance coverage before the items return as action items at the next regular board meeting.

Next steps: Both trips were presented as briefing items; the presenter said both would return as action items for board approval at an upcoming meeting (the presenter named March 2026 for the music trip and Oct. 29–Nov. 1 for the FFA convention). The board asked staff to provide additional details on fundraising options, flight bookings and local ground transportation prior to the first October meeting.