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Board raises equity concerns about field trips and explores funding options for DC trips
Summary
Board members asked for an updated list of field trips and raised equity concerns after multi-year pauses for some trips (cited as happening during COVID). A board member suggested a potential board subsidy (example cited: about $20 per student at roughly $26,000 total) to restore opportunities such as a fifth-grade Washington, D.C., trip.
A board member raised concerns that field-trip opportunities vary by school and depend on PTO fundraising, leaving students at some elementary schools with fewer chances to participate. The member said traditional fifth-grade Washington, D.C., trips have not run for several years (cited as pausing around the COVID period) and urged the district to review current field-trip rosters against the field-trip policy and evaluate whether the board should help fund equitable opportunities.
The discussion included an example cost estimate for a bus and program that would yield roughly $20 per student and a back-of-envelope suggestion that a board-level subsidy of about $26,000 could restore an option for a full bus of students. Board members asked administration to provide an updated list of field trips and to check how PTO-funded differences translate to unequal student experiences.
Administration did not make a motion to fund trips at the meeting; the item was presented as a policy and equity concern for staff to investigate and report back with specifics and potential funding options.
