Why does the bus cost money? The school system isn't contracting out for buses. Don't they own them? It would seem the reasonable cost would be the driver plus gas.

I would also guess there was some padding in that $45 to cover admissions for FARMS kids.

The high cost is to cover the transportation. I plan a field trip from an MCPS school to Historic St. Mary's City every year. Admission is $6.50 per student, however the cost per student for this trip is always around $40 (give or take a couple of dollars, depending on the total number of students going on the trip). You take the cost of admission, add the transportation using private buses, and divide it by the number of students going on the trip.

For example:
$6.50 admission x 70 students = $455
Transportation Cost: $2,500
Cost per student = 455 + 2,500 = $2,955/70 = $42.21
At my school, we would round down to $42, we never add money to the cost per student to make up for students that don't pay the full amount.

Private transportation is very expensive!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never worked at a school that makes students' parents cover the cost of transportation. One school we had our own buses so we didn't have to pay. The other, the cost of the bus would come out of the department/school budget.

I would ask where the extra $25+ per child came from.

This FCSP, we always pay for transportation and if it is a bus trip out of the area like this one, the they have to get the ones with a bathroom. They can't use regular school buses because of that and the timing issues.

But say there are 50 kids on the bus and each pays $15-20 to cover transportation. That's still $750-1,000 for a day trip to the MD Science Center? What does the MSD have that can't be replicated closer to the school so they aren't spending that kind of money?

Anonymous wrote:I've never worked at a school that makes students' parents cover the cost of transportation. One school we had our own buses so we didn't have to pay. The other, the cost of the bus would come out of the department/school budget.

I would ask where the extra $25+ per child came from.

This FCSP, we always pay for transportation and if it is a bus trip out of the area like this one, the they have to get the ones with a bathroom. They can't use regular school buses because of that and the timing issues.

Anonymous wrote:$45? Admission to the MD Science Center is about $16-20 for children, school group rates are normally less. Where did $45 per child come from?

The bus costs something.

I've never worked at a school that makes students' parents cover the cost of transportation. One school we had our own buses so we didn't have to pay. The other, the cost of the bus would come out of the department/school budget.

I would ask where the extra $25+ per child came from.

The group admission price at the Maryland Science Center is $19.95 which includes an iMax movie ($15.95 without the movie).

The rest of the $45 fee must be for transportation costs? I think that's really expensive. Like a PP, I have twins and $90 for a field trip would be stretching it for me. I have a friend with triplets. I don't know that I would pay $135 for three kids of mine to go on that field trip.

You were ripped off. I cannot figure out how the school came up with $45 per child. I would ask that question.

Anonymous wrote:In DCPS, we pay an annual activity fee of $100 per pupil which covers the field trips and who knows what else. There are about 3-4 field trips per year.

In our DCPS its $150.

I've paid more than that. And I didn't like it one bit.

That's ridiculous and tone-deaf to the budget difficulties that some parents might face. Further, your PTA could bring in the MD Science Center for presentation that the kids would probably love and be on point, or the PTA could defray the cost of the field trip so it didn't cost so much (buses or something). $45 is way too much to require parents to pay.

I don't understand why it costs $45

The science and humanities magnet programs at Roberto Clemente MS in MCPS have week-long field trips that cost $800-1,000. If I had a kid in one of those programs, I would have a real problem with this.

This happened to me last year with my kids. They are in the same grade (twins) and it was going to be 90 dollars. I am a single mom and thats our weekly grocery budget. I would of totally sent them if I had a months or 6 weeks notice (i can save 12 bucks a week and scrimp here or there and do it) but I only had 2 weeks notice of the costs. I ended up letting my kids stay home with my parents that day and I took them myself the following month. All three of us got in for under 45. Not an ideal situation for me.

In DCPS, we pay an annual activity fee of $100 per pupil which covers the field trips and who knows what else. There are about 3-4 field trips per year.