School Board OKs trip to China by Barron band

Summer barely has started, but some Collier County students already are planning for spring break.

The Collier County School Board approved two band trips on Thursday. While the Naples High School band will head to San Francisco, members of the Barron Collier High School band will pack their instruments and head to Beijing.

The band requested the board approve its trip to Beijing so students could perform in the 2007 American Celebration of Music in China in April.

While board members approved the trip, some did cite concerns over cost and safety.

Prior to the vote, board member Pat Carroll asked that BCHS staff members monitor terror alerts to ensure the students’ safety.

According to board member Linda Abbott, the board has looked toward the U.S. Department of State’s travel warnings to determine whether the location is safe.

Beijing is not currently listed as a place of concern, according to the State Department’s Web site.

Superintendent Ray Baker said measures were put into place following Sept. 11, 2001, to ensure students’ safety. All precautions were taken in planning the trip to Beijing, Baker said.

Students would leave for China on March 30 and return on April 9. The trip falls during spring break, meaning students will only miss two days of school. Students will perform on the Great Wall of China, at two Chinese conservatories and right outside Tiananmen Square.

The trip will cost about $2,800 per person.

NHS band trip to San Francisco will cost about $1,400 per person and students will have a chance to play at Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate Park and Six Flags, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay.

Board members may have approved the trips, but Abbott expressed concerns when it came to cost.

Both trips are optional field trips, but Abbott said she was concerned that parents and students wouldn’t see them that way.

“Even though it’s voluntary, it’s hard to tell your child they aren’t allowed to go when everyone else is going,” she said. “I think it is a remarkable opportunity, but I caution that we give (schools) plenty of time to fund-raise.”

Schools can’t begin raising money for trips until they have received approval from the board. Earlier this week, BCHS band director Kelly Parker said her students would begin as soon as the trip was approved to ensure as many of the 250 band members could travel as possible.