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Poland schools nix field trips over bus-fee dispute
POLAND
School officials remained silent when a student asked for consequences for high-school staff’s actions after he challenged the legality of field-trip fees.
Jeff Vrabel Jr., a Poland Seminary High School junior, said since he asked his teacher about the legality of charging money for educational field trips, he has been getting harassed and threatened because they were canceled in response to his inquiry.
“I think something needs to be done,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel presented his case during the Poland school board meeting Monday night and was met with only silence.
At the beginning of the meeting, Richard Weaver, board president, announced Superintendent David Janofa would not be attending for “personal reasons.” Janofa did not return any of The Vindicator’s calls Monday night.
Kevin Snyder, high-school principal, said he wasn’t able to comment because Janofa is the speaker for the district.
Vrabel had two back-to-back field trips requesting nearly $30 total. One was a field trip to Youngstown to visit the Mahoning County jail, Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center and the 7th District Court of Appeals costing $8; the other was to Laurel Caverns in Farmington, Pa., costing $20.
He said he heard in passing about a law restricting schools charging for educational field trips and decided to look it up.
“I found that legally they [schools] cannot charge a student for a field trip if it’s educational and it’s during the school day,” he said.
According to the Ohio Revised Code 3301-83-24 Section B, in regard to fees for nonroutine school transportation, “no pupil charge shall be made for transporting pupils to and from educational field trips during school days.” This law became effective in 2013.
Both trips were during school hours on school days.
Originally, Vrabel said his teacher backed him on the issue until she took it to higher administration.
“They told her, ‘You don’t want to pay for the bus, you don’t go – it’s that simple,’” he said. “I understand field trips aren’t guaranteed but are a privilege and no one has to go.”
Within a few days of Vrabel’s challenge, Snyder announced all school field trips were canceled for the remainder of the year.
That’s when the harassment started, Vrabel said.
“I got a lot of, ‘Thanks a lot. You ruined the field trips,’ and, ‘I’m going to beat you up for it,’” Vrabel said.
That kind of talk didn’t bother him because he knew others knew he asked about it. What bothered him was when his friend’s sister was told by an unidentified teacher that school field trips were canceled because “Jeff Vrabel got us in trouble.”
“That’s what bothered me the most,” he said. “She was using my name. She was calling and giving out my name. I think it’s childish, I think it’s pitiful, and I think it’s pathetic. One, that a 16-year-old caught it. Two, that they would not own up to it. Three, that they’re putting it all on a 16-year-old – myself. They’re using me as a scapegoat.”
Ryan Maker, another junior, said this makes him wonder how many other times a student has paid for a field trip for which they were not obligated to.
“I want them to acknowledge what they did was wrong and come forth to the student body about this,” Vrabel said. “I want to know how many other schools this happens at and maybe let them know about this law. I want to see what happens next.”
He also said he would like to see the field trips reinstated.