BELLE — As Maries R-2 senior class sponsors attempt to reschedule the class of 2020’s senior trip around the novel coronavirus COVID-19, the board of education believes canceling may be the best option.

“The senior trip has been rescheduled for June. 21-26,” Superintendent Dr. Lenice Basham told board members at the April 24 school board meeting.

The group was originally supposed to leave for Florida on April 25, but due to both Missouri and Florida’s Stay-At-Home orders, they were forced to reschedule. Class sponsor Sarah Mouser said last week after the board meeting that she had the rescheduled dates approved by administrators prior to the board meeting and had already spoken with the airlines about taking the trip in June instead of April. She was successful in rescheduling, but was told the airlines would not move the trip again. Basham shared that information with the board of education.

“Their flights have been rescheduled and are not refundable,” she said. “They believe everything will open and they can go in June.”

The board had just finished discussing the eighth graders’ Washington D.C. trip, saying for sure they did not want that group to travel in August 2020, and maybe not even May 2021.

“Well, wouldn’t our same line of thinking (about the D.C. trip) apply to this,” Butler asked.

Director Kenda Sanders said “yes.” Kiso agreed that “it has to.”

Basham said students were supposed to go on the trip already, their tickets were purchased in December. They have rescheduled once already, and if they can’t go in June then they can’t go at all.

“What did they end up paying?” Director Tom Kinsey asked.

Basham said she isn’t sure.

“If restrictions haven’t been lifted, they are going to cancel their trip and the students will get the $200 extra that they raised to get their deposits back,” Basham said.

“It is still dangerous and is the same philosophy for everyone,” Kiso said. “Like Joey said, they could go, maybe they won’t get it, but they could carry it back.”

Basham asked for confirmation on the board’s decision.

“So we have a plan to look at it next month and the board will make a decision next month about whether they are going or not,” she asked.

The board agreed. Butler said for as bad as it is, he thinks the board will have to (cancel).

Even though the trip’s future is pending, senior trippers were still at the school April 27 through May 1, selling flower baskets as a fundraiser for the trip. Seniors Skylar Rice, class president, and Sydney Lange, said they understood where the board was coming from, but didn’t feel their trip was comparable to the eighth graders’ trip to Washington D.C.

“Honestly, I just think some of the school board members didn’t take into consideration how we felt about the trip,” Rice said. “We spent all year and countless hours fundraising. I understand where they are coming from, for us not to get sick and bring it back, but to not discuss with us what we want to do about it was kind of harsh.”

Lange agreed.

“I think the right questions weren’t asked,” Lange said. “They basically said they were going to put it off until next month. They didn’t ask for any information. They really weren’t wanting to do out-of-state travel, no alternative plans or know what to do with the money.”

Rice said the seniors and sponsors have a few ideas about revising the trip if the board’s main concern was traveling out-of-state.

“The biggest one is to do a Missouri trip and not go out-of-state,” Rice said. “A Missouri road trip to jump around and go different places.”

Branson and Lake of the Ozarks would both be on the itinerary.

Rice said the students raised a lot of money — nearly $1,700 each and 13 students were planning to take the trip.

“That is a lot of money and there is a lot you can do with that in Missouri,” Rice said. “Our first choice is we still get to go on an actual senior trip to Florida June 21-26 — the rescheduled date.”

She isn’t sure if students would be able to keep that same date for a Missouri road trip.

“The big thing right now is to see what the school board is ok with; if they shut us down completely or are lenient on what we can do,” she said.

Lange thinks the board canceling the trip entirely may be a good idea, as long as they could figure out a way to do that legally.

“We do have a lot of donors and we need their permission to use the money for anything other than a trip,” Lange said. “They didn’t think about the donors or how they would feel about it not being given back to us in someway or being used for a trip for us.”

As far as a Missouri road trip, Lange said she is all for making memories.

“I don’t necessarily have to be on a beach as long as we are able to make memories before going off to college, that is all I really care about,” Lange said. “Our last day of high school — we didn’t know that was going to be our last day. Now we are not going back, so we don’t get that “last day” experience. Then with the senior trip being canceled and hoping we will get another chance next month — I was supposed to be graduating on Sunday, and now that isn’t until July. It’s not the same.”

Rice said a lot of things are happening that are out of their control.

“It’s really just been upsetting and disappointing,” Rice said. “It can’t be helped that graduation and the senior trip are on a different date now. It either can’t happen or we can make the most of it.”

She said she has been looking forward to her senior trip for four years, like a “last hoora” with classmates. Even though she understands where the school board is coming from, she feels they still see the seniors as children and not adults.

“They don’t want us to get sick or everyone else to get sick,” Rice said. “As far as the eighth grade thing goes, they are on a different level. They are eighth graders and will still get to go on their senior trip. But our trip, most of us are going off to college, one girl is going into the army, some of us have gotten into tech schools or two-year programs.”

Rice said most of the senior trippers and seniors in general have a plan after high school is over. Lange said she plans to attend Maryville University in the fall, joining their physical therapy program to receive a bachelors degree in health sciences and a minor in business administration. She has already signed up for classes virtually.

Lange’s mother, Susan Lange, said she feels for the board, and if the students don’t go on a trip, each should receive a check for the money they have fundraised. A scholarship would not go amiss.

“To be fair to the administration and the school board, I think everybody was kind of caught off guard with this,” Susan said. “We have never had this situation before, it is very unprecedented and I think everybody is feeling very overwhelmed.”

She acknowledged that the decisions the board makes will impact the students and the community.

“Sending the kids out-of-state and possibly bringing something back — we have been fortunate as a community not to have been impacted,” Susan, who is a healthcare provider, said. “They were not prepared at the April meeting to ask the questions that needed to be asked.”

Seniors have already made nonrefundable down payments for the trip, and Susan said she feels the board needs to know what is leftover from those.

“They don’t have the information they need to make those decisions,” she said.

Susan added a couple of big points she feels the board needs to know, saying students have worked hard all year and they raised money and deserve the money. Above all, they should come first in the situation.

“There is a right way and a wrong way to manage the situation, we have to do right by them and, legally, by the school,” she said. “We have to think about the family, friends and community who have backed the students this long year, and I feel strongly that there will be a negative impact if there is an issue where students are not getting their money.”

As a mother, she said she had reservations about sending her daughter on a plane to a different state.

“A Missouri Road trip would give them the opportunity to be together before going separate ways and still have their safety and the community’s safety in mind,” Susan said. “I hope the board takes that into account in May.”

If that doesn’t happen, Susan said Maryville University is expensive.

“I would be fine with them writing a $1,700 check to Maryville University as a scholarship,” she said.

Both Lange and Rice added that with graduation postponed until July, many of their classmates will have already left for school or the military.

“Some of us are never going to see each other again,” Rice said. “I hope they take that into consideration.”