Saturday, April 18, 2009

Priorities of the simpleminded...


Education officials leery of a murderous rash of violence in Mexico have nixed a Brooklyn school's class trip to Cancun, leaving seething parents on the hook for hundreds of dollars in cancellation fees.

The excursion, set for May 4, went south for 18 kids at Boerum Hill's MS 447 last month after Department of Education officials got spooked by a recent spate of drug cartel-related killings along the US-Mexican border and pulled the plug, even though Cancun is hundreds of miles away from problem spots.
That's a shame...it's a shame that a cash strapped city, and by association...a cash strapped public school in Brooklyn would even entertain the thought of taking students to Mexico.

Granted, the parents were footing the bill for the students. But, the teachers and chaperones were likely getting the trip on the house (taxpayer). If the parents have $1,400 to throw away on a trip to a Mexican tourist mecca...why not ask them to shell out $1,400 for school equipment and textbooks. You can read about mexico from the classroom's brand new atlas.