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Parents urge Laurel Highlands board to reinstate overnight trips for outdoor school

By Eric Morris emorris@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read

A decision made last spring by the Laurel Highlands School Board to eliminate overnight trips for elementary and middle school students has drawn the ire of advocates of the district’s long-standing outdoor school.

Several parents, students and community members turned out to address the board Tuesday regarding the decision, which ultimately altered the Laurel Highlands Outdoor School, which is a tradition in the district.

Steve Perkins of North Union Township, a parent of a district fifth grader and an organizer of a group of parent advocates in support of the overnight program, urged the board to reinstate overnight trips for the outdoor school.

“I think there is an overwhelming amount of public support for this program. We have a wonderful tradition that builds our local history, gives the children an opportunity for hands-on learning about our unique area and we have eliminated it, and I have not heard a valid reason as to why,” said Perkins.

The Laurel Highlands Outdoor School has operated for 48 years to provide outdoor learning experiences to fifth grade students of the district. The environmental camp is held over three days and two nights each spring at the Jumonville Retreat Center.

At the board’s May meeting it approved the withdrawal of overnight trips for grades K-8 beginning with the 2019-20 school year. The motion passed on a 5-2 vote, with directors Debra Bortz, Nancy Glad, Tom Landman, Randy Raymond and Melvyn Sepic supporting, and Jamie Miller D’Andrea and Alicia Santore opposing. Beverly Beal and Brandi Kalich passed on voting.

While no discussion occurred regarding the issue at the time of the vote in May, the topic was rekindled in September when two parents, including Perkins, addressed the board during the public comment portion of the meeting to ascertain why the overnight portion of outdoor school was eliminated and if the board would consider reinstating it.

At that meeting, Superintendent Dr. Jesse Wallace clarified that the motion covered all overnight trips and that the outdoor school’s day program would remain intact.

“The reason behind that was grounded in safety issues. There was a faction of the board that felt very strongly that our students wouldn’t be as safe as they could be in some of those positions where they were going in the night, and as a result of that, the board opted to do away with overnight trips for anyone under eighth grade,” said Wallace.

Parents have argued the overnight portion of the trip is a key component for students to experience individualism and independence.

Board President Melvyn Sepic said Tuesday that the board will await reorganization in December when two new individuals replace current outgoing board members before considering any further action.

“We think that they need to be involved in this decision also because it’s a controversial decision,” said Sepic.

The four-year terms of D’Andrea and Santore expire this year. They did not seek reelection.

“We have to discuss this more thoroughly,” Sepic added. “I understand parents’ concerns, but we also have concerns that do deal with security and safety.” He noted that district school buildings are guarded by armed security.

Jumonville president and CEO Heather Withrow told the board that the center is dedicated to partnering with the district and will do whatever it can to address the board’s concerns.

Following the meeting, district solicitor Gary Frankhouser said the board’s chief concern is the inability to provide security outside of the school setting, especially in overnight circumstances.

“It’s more of a personal concern by the board members who voted for that, that something was going to happen, not that something ever did,” he said.

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