Iowa Kids Aren’t Going On Many, If Any, Field Trips This Semester

Schools' budgets are getting squeezed even tighter.

Field trips in school were some of the best days. As adults, we really should have them in addition to PTO. Who wouldn't want to spend an afternoon learning about an 1800's waterwheel?

Unfortunately, it looks like kids in Iowa won't get as many field trips for this school year for a bunch of reasons, not the least of which are the diesel prices.

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Diesel fuel prices are climbing in Iowa, topping $6.50 per gallon. Since the war in Iran continues, there's no likelihood that the prices will lower. Dike-New Hartford Superintendent Justin Stockdale told KCRG that:

It’s not fun playing this prediction game. You try to budget for it, but inevitably you really don’t know what the market’s going to do.

A lot of school districts in Iowa and the country are cutting back on field trips this year because of diesel costs and driver shortages. They're also consolidating bus routes and enforcing anti-idling measures.

Public school parents can't pick up the tab on field trips in Iowa either, according to a directive from the Iowa Department of Education.

Charter buses for big field trips are an additional cost, evening out to about between $150 and $250 per hour, or $1,300 to $2,200 per bus.

Virtual "trips" are picking up in popularity for school districts across the country. If kids go anywhere, it's not generally attached to learning, but it is a "reward trip", which is somewhere like the movies or a ballgame.

A 2011 study from my home state, Arkansas, surveyed 11,000 students, including a group that went to the state art gallery. It found that the students who went to the gallery showed more critical thinking about art, empathy towards history, and tolerance.