Saugus school board OKs 2014 high school field trip to Europe

SAUGUS – The Saugus School Committee approved a 13-day “Holocaust in Europe” field trip for next April, which includes tours of two concentration camps – Dachau and Auschwitz – and stops in Berlin, Munich and Prague.?They?ll see the tremendous progression of how serious this event was in history,” said humanities teacher Richard Lavoie.Lavoie said enrollment in a new Holocaust class at the high school has been overwhelming, calling it a “deep” and “powerful” course.Lavoie is taking 30 students on a field trip to Ireland beginning this weekend for April vacation.School Committee Vice-Chairman Corinne Riley said the Saugus Business Education Collaborative decided not to donate money for an adult education program, noting she was told it was not in line with their mission at this time.?It didn?t work,” she said. “But I do want to thank the SBEC for considering our request and I can?t thank them enough for what they do for the district.Riley she will look for other ways to raise money to make sure the school department doesn?t lose money on the program.?We?re not giving up,” she said. “We?re still moving on because we want this to happen. We?re working our best to get it done.”In other business, Riley, who chairs the Food Service Subcommittee, said money owed for school lunch is down from $1,700 to $900.Finance Director Pola Andrews said she would like to see more students participate in the district breakfast program, which she said is only at 6 percent participation.Geoff Bruno, Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services, sat in for Superintendent Richard Langlois, who was on vacation, and said Monday?s Unsung Heroes Awards was a success.?The students recognized model responsibility and keep doing what they?re doing whether you recognize them or not,” he said.Bruno also thanked John Smolinski of the SBEC, and the teachers and principals who helped put the event together.Lastly, the committee accepted several gifts, including $5,740 from Wheelabrator for a smartboard, a field trip and portable radios for the Ballard Early Childhood Center, $500 from the Exxon Mobil Educational Alliance for the high school and $75 from the Saugus Family Care Council for the high school chorus.The committee did not discuss the recently released student activity account audit, but Chairman Wendy Reed said the committee will be “reviewing it.”?I would like to set up a meeting once we?ve read and digested the information in there,” she said. “We are not going to discuss any personnel issues.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].