Connetquot school district cancels trips to NYC, Washington D.C. over terror concerns, officials say

The Connetquot school district has canceled November and December field trips to Washington, D.C., and Manhattan because of the "increasing threats against our country," school officials wrote in a letter to parents dated Thursday.

"At this time, we feel the reward of the school trip is outweighed by the risk associated with visitation to either of these places," read a letter from Superintendent Lynda Adams.

The notice said the district "will be postponing and/or canceling any trip" for November and December. Trips later in the year to either Washington or Manhattan will be re-evaluated closer to the date.

Adams noted the decision was made in accordance with Connetquot board of education policy that states "with the declaration of 'elevated alert' status, all plans for field trips will be reassessed based upon the most current and domestic international developments." The letter was posted on the district website.

One of the canceled trips involved eighth-grade students from Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School who were scheduled to go Dec. 18 to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City, and to Rockefeller Center and the Sept. 11 memorial museum.

Freeport has canceled two Europe trips set for April, a district spokeswoman said.

Hank Grishman, superintendent of the Jericho schools, said his district has not canceled trips to New York City, but is re-evaluating plans for spring student trips to Europe.

"We are reviewing international trips for the coming year," he said, adding that he has "some concerns" about springtime plans for students to visit Spain, France and Italy.

Grishman said he was not aware of specific trips planned to New York City, but added it was likely students would travel there in the coming weeks.

He said the district regularly monitors warnings from the NYPD, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.

The district can change its plans based on that information, Grishman said.

The superintendent, who has spent 21 years at the district, said it canceled all such trips after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"We initially canceled all trips immediately following 9/11 and stayed out of the city for months," he said. "We canceled all European trips plus an annual trip to Quebec and Boston. It took two to three years to resume the European visits."

Grishman said he was sad to see those trips shelved, adding that "it's such an important part of kids' educations."

A spokesman for the William Floyd school district said no trips have been canceled.

Several Long Island school districts canceled student travel to Manhattan, as well as international trips soon after 9/11.