WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — By a 5-1 vote, the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday OK'd a school-sanctioned field trip to Ecuador despite concerns that not all district families would be able to afford the opportunity.

 

Keith Jones, a social worker at the middle-high school, proposed the trip for the first week of July in 2026, during summer vacation.

 

"The purpose of our trip to Ecuador is to engage students in meaningful community service projects that foster a sense of global responsibility while immersing them in the rich culture and natural beauty of the region," Jones wrote in the application for approval by the committee.

 

"This trip aims to cultivate a spirit of service, cultural appreciation and personal growth, empowering students to become compassionate, informed and globally minded citizens."

 

Committee members agreed that the trip could be beneficial to the students who participated.

 

But a couple members raised concerns about the $4,319 price tag, which is about 34 percent higher than the cost of the last similar trip the district sponsored, to Panama in 2024.

 

Jose Constantine, who ended up on the short end of the 5-1 vote (committee member Ursula Maloy was absent) said he was concerned about the district's role in sanctioning such ventures.

 

"Effectively, they're for-profit trips where we're encouraging families to direct funds to a company to care for our students," Constantine said. "In actuality, except for our teachers and parents chaperoning the students, it's not clear to me what role our district is or should be paying, other than sanctioning the trip.

 

"That's concerning to me because our responsibilities should be to all of the students in our district, not just those whose families have the means to go on these seemingly exciting trips. I think they benefit just a small subset of the students we are charged to care for."

 

Jones' application notes that Education First, the tour company organizing the Ecuador trip, does have a scholarship program and that he could help interested students apply. And, as has been noted in the past, by approving the trip 18 months in advance, interested families will have time to potentially do fund-raising to defray the cost.

 

Jones did not speak to the committee during the virtual meeting. In presenting the application to the panel, interim Superintendent Joe Bergeron noted that the trip would come "with considerable cost," and the district cannot offer scholarships or funds to decrease the per-student cost.

 

Bergeron said that, in the past, the question of cost has been raised but that the committee has decided the benefit to students who do participate outweighs the concern that the trips are not as accessible as the elected board members might want.

 

Bergeron explained later that even though the trip would take place outside of the school year, the district's legal counsel advised that because Mount Greylock staff are coordinating the trip and participation is limited to students at the middle-high school, it is a school activity that required approval from the School Committee, which authorizes all overnight trips involving students.

 

Steven Miller asked whether, by going through EF Educational Tours, the trip is more or less expensive than it would be if a family wanted to organize such a trip on its own.

 

Bergeron said he could not provide any meaningful guidance on that point.

 

"Doing comparable airline tickets, hotel stays and cultural experiences — honestly, that's why tour companies exist, to do that analysis," he said. "Even if I spent 20 hours on it, I don't know that I'd get to the point where I was confident to say, to be honest."

 

Carolyn Greene pointed out that, at the very least, the school-sanctioned trip is one way for a family to give their child the experience without having to incur the cost of flying their whole family to Guatemala.

 

"A family may not be able to afford to take the trip, but they may be able to figure out a way for one family member to make the trip through fund-raising and other means," she said.

 

But Greene also echoed Constantine's concern about equity.

 

"I have a lot of qualms about this," she continued. "I've raised them in the past. I've continued to support educational trips because I do think it is a way for students to expand their education, a valuable way. … But not all families will be able to do this, and I still find that problematic."

 

Constantine also questioned a process under which tour companies "pressure" families to make a commitment to the trip far in advance of departure, though he acknowledged there are logistical reasons why that is.

 

"If you are a family who may not know if you have the means — you'd love to do it, but you may need time to fund raise or to save before you can commit the financing, which does involve putting down a down payment," Constantine said. "I worry about the concerns Carrie raised and I certainly have.

 

"I do wonder if we, as a district, could be doing this differently and, perhaps, more equitably in terms of a process that would allow families time to prepare and create an opportunity for their children."

 

After the 5-1 vote to approve the trip, Miller asked whether, in the future, the School Committee could be presented with multiple proposals with, presumably, different price points from different tour operators before being asked to make such decisions. Greene recommended that that idea be referred to the committee's Governance and Policy Subcommittee for the possible development of an amendment to the district's policy on trips.

 

In other business on Thursday, the School Committee discussed how the district should assess and measure student competency as a graduation requirement after a statewide referendum passed in November to throw out the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System as a requirement for a diploma. They decided that the administration should develop a plan and report back to the School Committee, possibly with an updated policy for approval.

 

And Miller asked that the January School Committee meeting agenda include a discussion about possibly sending a letter to the region's legislative delegation asking to extend the temporary modification to the Open Meeting Law allowing virtual meetings. That modification is set to expire on March 31, 2025.