S/O: High School Trips & Payment

[nicolewi]

For the first time, we have two big trips for kids that we need to decide about (one might not happen at all; they are working on it at school). I would like them to go; both sound amazing. But, it IS a little hard to justify when the cost of one of the trips is approaching what it would cost to do a family vacation for all of us. 

The trips I went on in high school were great and I really enjoyed them but nothing was international and costs were a lot lower (comparatively) than today. 

I know some people just don't do the trips, either from preference, or b/c they are just too expensive.

If your kids DO go, how have you handled this? We would pay most of it, but do you ask the kid to earn/pay a certain portion, and if so, how did you decide how much?

We would likely also do part of a Christmas gift/birthday gift being a contribution towards the trip. 

Neither kid has a job (15 and 13 years old) and we struggle to find time even for DD to babysit. I don't know if there will be fundraising, but if it's selling stuff, we're not going to do well. 

[ssmjlm]

Every year orchestra, band, and chorus did a trip from 6-12th grade. I participated from 6-11th when my schedule had me drop orchestra.

We did some fundraising at the beginning of the year that went into a general pot. Then trip information came out just before the holidays I believe. I remember in middle school is was chocolate bars for $1 and you could easily sell out a box just on the bus, lol.

I cannot remember what the high school one was.

All of our trips were on a bus, because we were in the mid-atlantic, so we did Williamsburg, Charleston, Atlanta, Orlando, and NYC.

ETA: My parents paid a portion, but I had a hefty allowance and so some of that went toward the trip, but this was from 1993-1999 (I'm so old.)

[waverly]

First, I did not go on any trips as a kid because we simply could not afford it. My son is going to DC. He had some roommate drama and the mom's were the problem actually. But anyway, the point was as much as that was annoying, it is an incredible priviledge to be able to go on these trips. So I would start from there, that this is a priviledge for the kids, not to be expected, and many many kids don't get to do these things. I asked around about the DC trip and most people I asked did not go, and I am in an area where a lot of people could have afforded to go. I think starting from there just helps set that expectation.

Second, we are paying for it because there were no fundraising options. If I give my child allowance and they give it back to me to pay for the trip, I mean it's still kind of all came from me. And the allowance that I give them is sporadic and not a lot of money anyway, so its not that helpful. My child is too young to have a job because he is only 13 but maybe if the 15/16 year old had a job they could contribute.

We did not tie this specific trip to birthday/ Christmas but we have tied other trips to that, but then still feel like we need something for them to open anyway.

[thebreakfastclub]

In the other post about the $2400 chorus trip, you stated that the director is asking for opinions.
I'd be speaking up loudly that the trip is over the top and way too expensive. High school kids do not need that type of trip. They need something that's a bus ride away.

I would decline that trip. That's more money than I'm interested in spending.

That type of trip wouldn't have been possible for me in high school and was not a thing at my school anyway.

[nicolewi]

Sept 18, 2024 8:36:55 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

In the other post about the $2400 chorus trip, you stated that the director is asking for opinions.
I'd be speaking up loudly that the trip is over the top and way too expensive. High school kids do not need that type of trip. They need something that's a bus ride away.

I would decline that trip. That's more money than I'm interested in spending.

That type of trip wouldn't have been possible for me in high school and was not a thing at my school anyway.

Well, kind of why I posted was to see if it WAS over the top, or if this is just normal these days. And the consensus seem to be that this is just what it costs to do trips now with a tour company. But I do think it’s a lot more than I would have expected and it’s definitely making these trips very much a privilege and something that is not accessible to everyone. I’m really not sure if this trip will even happened due to the cost factor. Kind of wondering if these travel opportunities for kids are just getting so expensive now with insurance and tour companies and everything that they are eventually not going to happen at all.

[thebreakfastclub]

Sept 18, 2024 8:55:46 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

Sept 18, 2024 8:36:55 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

In the other post about the $2400 chorus trip, you stated that the director is asking for opinions.
I'd be speaking up loudly that the trip is over the top and way too expensive. High school kids do not need that type of trip. They need something that's a bus ride away.

I would decline that trip. That's more money than I'm interested in spending.

That type of trip wouldn't have been possible for me in high school and was not a thing at my school anyway.

Well, kind of why I posted was to see if it WAS over the top, or if this is just normal these days. And the consensus seem to be that this is just what it costs to do trips now with a tour company. But I do think it’s a lot more than I would have expected and it’s definitely making these trips very much a privilege and something that is not accessible to everyone. I’m really not sure if this trip will even happened due to the cost factor. Kind of wondering if these travel opportunities for kids are just getting so expensive now with insurance and tour companies and everything that they are eventually not going to happen at all.

Anything involving a plane ride is over the top in my opinion. That alone is adding so much expense.

[minniemouse]

I just replied to the other thread. DD’s chorus trip last year, and band trip this year, are very reasonable so we just pay for them since I don’t like selling things. The chorus trip was $575. Band trip is going to be about the same. The grandparents like to give dd some spending money too.

[niq]

Our middle school goes to Japan (you can take Japanese) every other year and DC I think every year. The marching band goes on 1 or 2 bus-length trips.

We live in Seattle, so DC is a plane trip. The DC trip is not as expensive as taking our whole family, but it's close enough that I would rather just go as a family.

The Japan trip seems worth doing as a Once In Your Childhood experience.

The band trips are "normal" school trips and there's some scholarship money for students who need it.

On the travel cost front I would also push back on "one bed per student" policies. I get what they are trying to do but I do not think it's worth the tradeoff.

[sdlaura]

My kids would totally go on these if they were offered - so far my oldest is 12 and none have come up. I feel like that's a core memory for kids, and a big reason DH and I make the sacrifices involved with both of us working FT and staying in our "starter house" with four kids - so we can afford those types of extras that we didn't have as much of when we were growing up. My sister did have the opportunity to go to France as a kid and my parents scraped together the money, and she still talks about it as a 40-year-old  But I also totally understand if this would be less of a priority for another family.

[Deleted]

I don’t know if my school didn’t have trips like this, or if I just never went because there is ZERO chance my family could have paid for something like that. If I remember correctly maybe band went on a bus trip for a weekend (I wasn’t in band). I don’t even think the language clubs went anywhere.

$2400 would be out of the question for our family. We could maybe swing $500-700 once every few years, but we would absolutely expect our kid to pay probably half with his own money (birthday, Christmas, allowance, etc). It would be a lesson in saving up for something he wants to do.

[sent]

Sept 20, 2024 18:17:30 GMT -5 sdlaura said:

My kids would totally go on these if they were offered - so far my oldest is 12 and none have come up. I feel like that's a core memory for kids, and a big reason DH and I make the sacrifices involved with both of us working FT and staying in our "starter house" with four kids - so we can afford those types of extras that we didn't have as much of when we were growing up. My sister did have the opportunity to go to France as a kid and my parents scraped together the money, and she still talks about it as a 40-year-old  But I also totally understand if this would be less of a priority for another family.

This is why I would send them, the core memory part. If I was tight on money, I'd probably only let them attend one experience like this and not multiple. So if the band is going to Nashville and the language club is going to Paris, they'd have to pick only one. 

At ages 15 and 13, it would be a good idea to get them thinking about earning some money toward the trip also. Kids hustle busy parents for lots of things here beside baby sitting - walking dogs, sometimes pet sitting during breaks, hiding easter eggs in the yard, yard cleanups, and so on. 

[stemmie]

Our high school does trips for band, choir and orchestra on a four-year rotation so any student who participates has a one-time opportunity per activity; some kids do participate in 2 or even 3 trips plus a senior trip to WDW. They also do world language/art department trips which are smaller every 4 years.

The destination is announced 12-18 months in advance to allow for budgeting/fund raising. Opportunities are split between benefiting the general trip fund and individual travelers. When DS's band traveled to Europe, one kid (his mom actually) did enough fund raising to fund his entire trip. They did a range of things-- car washes, Applebee's breakfast, selling holiday plants, gift cards to local restaurants/supermarkets (merchants sold to the groups at 5-20% discounts), selling trip merch. We didn't "sell" anything except the fast-food discount cards (good for the school year giving a discount or freebie at 12 different local places) that a few friends asked me to get them. DS did a number of group activities that earned him a percentage of the profits and I mostly did restaurant and grocery gift cards which discounted the trip about $600.

The trips are reasonably priced considering that the kids' fares have to cover the cost of the teacher chaperones, administrator and nurse who accompany them. The district doesn't use parent chaperones although they can pay and follow the trips which are open to anyone who lives in the district. On the trip DS did, the parents stayed in a different hotel and had a few dinners/events apart from the band.

[pittpurple]

My daughter did a trip last year when she was 11 - it's 4 nights away at an outdoor camp type thing where they do kayaking and climbing and such. All the state schools in my city do this at some point and it's a core part of her last year at primary school. It was £400 (so maybe $600) and I had her contribute towards it - she catsit for a friend and I gave her half her allowance for a while. It was a nominal contribution but I wanted to make sure she understood how it worked when we prioritised her socialising and experiences, etc.

$2400 would not be an option for us unless something really dramatic changed or we didn't do other things. I think that's a really unfair expectation to put on families right now.

[sdlaura]

In thinking about this more, I think it's super #regional....as we discuss with everything. Whether that amount of money seems normal or excessive, I mean. Like in a district where median home price is $400k, $2400 for a kids' trip would seem like a lot more than in a district where median home prices are over $1 million, you know?

[lo]

I went on my school’s DC trip because my dad won 5k on a march madness bracket, lol. I had an amazing time!

I’m not paying 2400 for a band trip, but probably would for a cultural trip to like, Paris.

[karinothing]

Given our financial situation, I would pay. I would not ask the kid to pay. I am not sure I would feel comfortable asking my kid to pay no matter my financial situation, I think we would not go if it was a hardship. Our school does big trips, but money are typically never a barrier if a kid wants to go. The school figures something out.

[leahcar]

I actually did way more of these trips in school than my kids have done.

I can think of 8ish approx 3 hour bus trips I did. Most were related to school sponsored extracurriculars, but a few were with the school in general. Additionally, my middle school Beta Club did a NY trip (via Charter Bus) that was several days long. My high school band did a once a year trip somewhere. I participated 2 out of my 3 years of band. I never flew with school. I grew up in a rural, economically disadvantaged area and the schools seemed to work hard to make the trips as affordable as possible. Those trips were my birthday and part of my Christmas gift in middle school. I paid my own way in high school.

My sister's dance team flew once a year- usually a competition at Disney, but also did year-round fundraisers to help pay for it.

For my own children, our old school district did a DC bus trip in 5th grade. It was well known for years in advance that way and, while there were no fundraisers, they did offer payment plans.

DD1's high school band does an every 4 years trip to Disney for a workshop. It's well-known this way and, depending on the year your kid is going, you potentially have a long time to save up for it. We did payment plans as well. It was still unaffordable for many families; approximately half the kids went. I think we paid just under 2K for her to go; I didn't chaperone because I could not justify that extra expense.