Clark County schools, parents fight for refunds for canceled trips

The day before the Clark County School District announced all school-related out-of-state travel would be canceled, Spring Valley High School sent a $23,000 check to Disneyland for a grad night event in May and paid another $6,000 for buses for the trip.

“As of right now, the bus company has agreed for a full refund, but Disneyland is not being very cooperative,” school Principal Tam Larnerd wrote in a March 10 email to the Review-Journal.

School officials called Disneyland the day after they mailed the check and asked them not to cash it, Larnerd said, but noted the school “seems to be getting the runaround.” However, their persistence paid off.

On Thursday, he reported back: “We were able to put a stop on our check to Disneyland…whew!”

Similar negotiations are going on across the district, after schools pulled out of sporting competitions, band concerts and cancelled senior trips after last week’s announcement by CCSD officials of an out-of-state travel ban in response to concerns over the new coronavirus.

And schools aren’t the only ones trying to claw back deposits or payments. Many parents say they’ve been told that payments they sent for the events are nonrefundable.

Case-by-case decisions

But some efforts have proved fruitful.

Spring Valley High was able to negotiate a full refund from Southwest Airlines for plane tickets to Washington, D.C., that were purchased for a cancelled Model United Nations and AVID trip in April, Larnerd said.

At Palo Verde High School, Principal Darren Sweikert estimates families have already paid a total of $100,000 for their students to go on various trips and said staff members are trying to work with airline companies and hotels to provide refunds. One hotel has told Sweikert purchases are nonrefundable.

“I would plead for these hotels and airlines to do the right thing. The money we paid for these trips are kids’ money,” he said, adding that many students worked hard to raise funds for the trips. “We are trying our best to get these kids’ money back.”

Similarly, the Rancho High School band raised enough money to attend the Music For All festival this month in Indianapolis, but was forced to cancel just a few days before its scheduled departure, according to director Clinton Williams. The group has not been able to secure refunds on its flights and fees, he said.

The annual senior trip to Disneyland was also canceled at Rancho High and students have yet to receive any refunds, according to psychology and Latin American history teacher Isaac Barron, who also serves as a North Las Vegas city councilor. It cost each person $260 to go to Disneyland.

“They were bummed when they heard the news,” he said. “Some of these kids have been saving up for months.”

Thursday, Disneyland announced it would close the California park beginning March 14 through the end of the month due to coronavirus concerns.

Matthew Dowling, 17, said he had been looking forward to the trip since his freshman year of high school. When the school district announced the travel ban, he didn’t think it would affect the trip.

“(Then) the teacher in Student Council told us,” he said. “I was sad.”

As the last hurrah before they graduate, Dowling and his friends decided to go hiking in the mountains, instead.

Though the district’s plans regarding the new coronavirus seem to be in “a state of flux,” Barron has been able to insert the topic of the virus in his curriculum. In class, they are comparing the new coronavirus to smallpox.

“What’s the largest killer in human history?” he asked his class.

“Disease,” they replied in unison.

College visits

Coronavirus fears could also affect the traditional college visitation trips that families make every spring, according to Arun Ponnusamy, chief academic officer of Collegewise, an education consulting company.

Visiting the schools after they’ve been admitted can help students assess the atmosphere and amenities to determine if a campus is the right fit, he said. But with schools such as Harvard, Berkeley and the University of Washington moving to online classes, prospective students might find there are fewer information sessions and tours available.

“These colleges are trying to keep people away from their campuses,” Ponnusamy said.

Contact Alex Chhith at achhith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0290. Follow @alexchhith on Twitter.

Reporters Julie Wootton-Greener and Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this story.