North Quincy High School Galapagos Trip Out-of-Country Travel Request
At a glance
The School Committee considered a North Quincy High School science trip to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, April 14 to 22, 2028 with the travel company EF. The superintendent described liability concerns (Title IX investigations at a distance, negligence claims against EF, and a $500,000 state fine against EF and a $7,000 State Ethics Commission fine for a teacher over travel perks). Members raised cost (about $6,000), equity, classroom promotion of trips, and Ecuador's State Department level two advisory bordering a level three country. Supporters said either all such trips are allowed or none, and it should be a family decision. A motion to approve failed 3 to 3 (Cahill, Campbell and Leong in favor; Pergola, Hubley and Perdios opposed, with the mayor's vote not heard), so the request was not approved.
Based on auto-generated captions of the video, which covers a Policy Subcommittee meeting and the regular School Committee meeting; names and numbers may be misheard.
Sources
Log
- 2026-10-14 - School Committee - Denied on 3-3 vote.
- 2026-09-30 - School Committee - Discussed (travel advisories, cost, equity, liability); no vote, left on the agenda.
2026-10-28 - School Committee
An open-forum letter about the 2028 Galapagos tour (EF) was posted with the October 28 agenda.