Dist. 95 to reconsider Lake Zurich band's Paris trip
In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, the Lake Zurich Unit District 95 school board might reconsider whether to send the Lake Zurich High School band on a planned trip to Paris for a 2017 New Year's Day parade.
The school board approved the overseas trip in October.
"We should talk about it," District 95 Board President Doug Goldberg said Monday. "The last thing we want to do is endanger any of our staff or students."
For now, parents in Lake Zurich are also concerned. However, band director Josh Thompson said there is no reason to scrap the trip.
About 200 band members would travel, along with 12 chaperones and at least two Lake Zurich High instructors from Dec. 27, 2016, to Jan. 3, 2017.
"This could happen anywhere," Thompson said. "If anything, it will make Paris safer. The parents are concerned just like the rest of us, but we can't live our lives in fear. I have only received one email asking if anything would change. We're all feeling it, but know that by changing, the terrorists win. Did we stop going to New York? To Boston? Should we stop going to downtown Chicago?"
Thompson added there would be a lot of responsibility to bring the students to Paris, but "the adult reaction will shape the students' reaction for a lifetime."
Lake Zurich High's band would be part of La Grande Parade de Paris - Champs Élysées on Jan. 1, 2017. It would be the band's fifth overseas trip.
It would cost $3,000 to $3,200, plus passport, per band member to travel to Paris. The band students plan to hold fundraisers to help them pay for the trip.