The cost of fieldtrips for students....

Well after reading all of these responses I can most definitely top them all. My son is getting ready to go on his 5th grade outdoor education field trip. This trip was paid for at the beginning of the school year and I'm pretty sure that it costs $230 for 5 days. This doesn't include the transportation as the parents will be driving. This trip is 3 hours away so the parents that are going are also the volunteers too. Do I think it's ridiculous absolutely. My daughter went on this same trip years ago though and has wonderful memories of her time in the outdoors with her friends. Hope he has fun as it costs a fortune. :)

As a teacher I can tell you the cost of an excursion is generally the cost of transport plus entry fees (if any). If I took a class of 30 students to anywhere I would have to get a bus which costs about $300, so the cost per student would be $10. Maybe this fieldtrip is similar?

My daughter's first school didn't charge a lot for field trips. Maybe 5 bucks here, 5 bucks there. Also her school used school buses to take kids to point B and back to point A. Her new school, ha ha, it's a joke. At the end of the year, last year now, I had to pay close around 25 bucks so my daughter could go out of state to the Huntsville Space Center. That covered everything down to the food. My daughter loves space, so I didn't deny it for her. This year is a little bit cheaper at 21 dollars, and they are going to Chattanooga aquariam, which my daughter has been there twice already. What upsets me is that I have to get a lunch for her to take. Both of these field trips they rented charter buses. What happened to taking field trips on regular buses. I can't complain about the school, this is the reason we moved here in the first place.

That is pretty expensive-- I hope lunch was included.. My daughter is 10 and has been on all kinds of field trips-- Movies about $5, museums $5, Music hall Free--- I think $11 is alot-- what about families that can't afford to throw in an extra $11 for 1 field trip? It's just odd- My daughter is usually so excited about field trips that I don't mind paying whatever they are asking for. But then again they've all been pretty reasonable so far.

my son is just in pre-k, but they had a field trip at christmas time going to Santa House and then MacDonald's. It cost $7 and that is really good. Not sure why it would be $11 for the water plant. Was there not any sort of explanation in the note? wierd. that does seem like a lot for a field trip to a water plant.

Thats really weird... the Water Plant seems like something that would be free, like the fire station! Plus, even places that charge admission to the public usually give a discount to field trip groups so the kids don't have to pay so much. Was some of the money going to be used for something else, such as having to rent the bus, or paying for lunch, or something?

Surely the actual treatment plant visit is free? Perhaps they are having to pay a bus driver and for the gas? Maybe they are going to stop for lunch too and didn't tell you that part? I would certainly see the teacher and find out! That seems very expensive to me. I know that the last time my daughter's band had to go somewhere, the usual bus drivers couldn't drive the bus because it was after school and they were on their regular routes, so they had to hire a bus driver.

Field trips cost money for several reasons. Mostly the rising gas prices are going to be a big issue with having to take buses. Are you sure this money isn't for lunch out somewhere as well? I'd get clairification first, but I would think gas prices and lunch would be the reason for the cost.

You could ask the teacher for a breakdown coz that really is absurd. If they can show you the breakdown and it is reasonable, then maybe youll convince your son to go to that field trip.

Wait til your kids get a little older and see how much trips cost then. When my daughter was 17 she went to New York and it was pretty expensive it was a day trip, but fun. Don't remember how much it was exactly. Trips do cost a little much though.

That's really freak, that is around 535.70 in Philippine Peso, we actually spend more than this much for our children's field trip but they visited many places like theme parks. For a water plant? would it be the cost of transportation? Is it located very far from school? My two children just attended a 3day summer camp and it cost me less. The place is actually 4 hours drive from Manila. That is because the school got sponsors for the expenses.

That's not bad. At least your son is allowed to go on field trips. When I was in school, they banned field trips for students, because the insurance was the most expensive. The most my parents paid for a field trip was $30 and that was to go to disneyland.

The cost of everything involving public school seems to rise each year. When I was little my parents paid maybe couple dollars for a field trip if we didn't bring our own lunches. Nowadays, we have to pay for admissions, bus fare, meals, etc.... It's getting ridiculous.

I just have to say, wait till he is in high school. When i was in my senior year, the costs of fieldtrips piled faster than laundry! To keep seniors in school, there was a trip every month plus a graduation night at disney in may. Each trip costs around 30 dollars without food and believe me, you have to bring food money. The disney trip is around 200 dollars! 11 dollars would have been heaven to me back then!

Maybe they need the money to pay for transportation? That's just a guess though.

well for me they dont really pay anything so far, (thank God) We have regular fundraisers for all the extra stuff they take the kids to. I guess we are lucky then!

Not sure what would "cost" that to go to something like a water plant either!? Hopefully they have water slides at the water park to make it worth the $11! lol They didn't even say what the cost was covering? I find that odd indeed.

Maybe your kid's fee is helping cover those kids who can't afford to pay so they can go to. I know it's not fair because they didn't tell you, but that's what's school's do sometimes. When I was in school, fieldtrips were free!

Maybe your kid's fee is helping cover those kids who can't afford to pay so they can go to. I know it's not fair because they didn't tell you, but that's what's school's do sometimes. When I was in school, fieldtrips were free!

my youngest just went to the science centre and the cost was $14..which is pretty pricey and between that and my older daughters grad pics (she is in grade 8) a parent could go broke just sending them to school. The thing that i thought was rude was that my youngest daughters teacher said if you arent going on the trip you might as well not even bother coming to school...we live in a very middle class area with lots of single parents...and not everyone is gonna be able to do that...