A different field trip policy has been put into place recently for the Mehlville School District due to budget cuts and numerous budget circumstances.

Towards the end of last year, Mrs. Kellerman received an email concerning field trips and what the new policy was going to be, but this policy was applied at the beginning of the 2013 -2014 school year.

“I totally understand understand why it had to be done,” head principal Jan Kellerman explains.

The main difference with this policy is that the Mehlville School District will no longer pay for substitutes while students are on field trip, unless these field trips meet specific guidelines.

In order for a substitute to be paid for, the field trips would have to meet three specific guidelines:  students are attending a specific training for a class, students are participating in a performance, or if it is a field trip that the district or course requires students to take.

“It’s not that we don’t want students taking field trips, it is actually a fund issue,” Kellerman said.

There has been some hype and concern that with this new policy in place, there will no longer be any more field trips, which is not true. Students are still able to take field trips if they do not meet the guidelines listed above, however, students and teacher would have to provide the money for a sub. A way to get past this problem would be to divide the cost of the sub amongst the students and teachers, and just combining that with the bus fees.

If a student is absolutely not able to pay for these fees, Kellerman explains that administration and teachers are willing to work with individual situations,

“If a kid truly is in a hardship situation and can not afford sub and bus fees combined, we’re willing to take a look at it and try to help.”

Unfortunately for both students and teachers, budget cuts happen, (especially with the economy is not at it’s best at the moment) but the important thing is that students, staff, and other members of the Mehlville School District make best of their resources in the most effective manner that they can.