O'Fallon Eighth Grade Field Trip

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Frequent Questions About the Trip:

1. What are the trip dates?
2. How much does the trip cost?
3. Can we cover the entire cost by doing fundraising activities?
4. If parents have overpaid the price of the trip due to fundraising, how and when do they get their money back?
5. When parents go online to stop direct deposit payments, a warning tells them that if they cancel payments, their trip will be canceled, is this true?
6. How do I get updates on my account balance from the DC Trip Treasurer?
7. What is the web address for Educational Tours?
8. What are the deadlines for trip application/payment?
9. When is the last possible day to sign up for the trip?

Frequent Questions About Fundraising:

1. How are hours and earning rates calculated?

Answers:

Trip:

1. Rating: +2

   

   What are the trip dates?

   For students traveling by bus: May 11-15 2010. Departing early on Tuesday, May 11, arriving home early morning Saturday, May 15.
   For students traveling by air: May 11-14 2010. Departing mid-day Tuesday, May 11 and arriving home Friday evening/night, May 14.
   Students will return early enough to attend OTHS graduation (in case they have siblings graduating).

2. Rating: +0

   

   How much does the trip cost?

   The trip is all inclusive.
   Students will only need additional money for souvenirs.
   The air tour is $1199.00 per student ($1338.00 per adult).
   The bus tour $779.00 per student ($918.00 per adult).
   Exact details are on the Educational Tours hand out (registration form).

   Payments due directly to ETI as follows:
   Monday, September 28 $175
   Monday, November 9 $175
   Monday, December 14 $175
   Monday, January 25 $175
   Balance (less any fundraising dollars applied) is due mid-March, 8 weeks prior to departure date.

   Students/Parents may offset their cost by participating in fundraisers (see fundraising pages).

3. Rating: +0

   

   Can we cover the entire cost by doing fundraising activities?

   Fundraising money does not pay for trip insurance (RGP), nor does it pay for the $10 transportation charge for air tour participants. It also does not pay for the $50 transfer fee if a student decides to transfer from bus to air, or air to bus

4. Rating: +0

   

   If parents have overpaid the price of the trip due to fundraising, how and when do they get their money back?

   If parents have made all of the deposits and have done a significant amount of fundraising to pay for most, or all, of the trip, they will get a refund. The students will receive a check from the O'Fallon District 90 office from the 8th Grade Trip Account. Students should receive their refund check a week or two prior to the trip.

   Scenario 1: John Doe has made the four $175.00 deposits earlier in the year for the bus tour, but he has also done a number of fundraisers to offset the cost of the trip. His fundraising totals are $300. He is traveling on the bus tour, so according to Educational Tours, he still owes $79. He will receive a final invoice from Educational Tours in the next few months stating he needs to pay the remaining balance. HE DOES NOT PAY THE FINAL INVOICE AMOUNT YET, because he will receive a final invoice from our
   treasurer in late March/early to mid-April that has his fundraising money calculated, along with the amount he still owes Educational Tours. John has earned $300 in fundraising. He owes Educational Tours $79. He does not have to pay anything to Educational Tours because the fundraising money exceeds the amount still owed, and he will receive a refund check in the amount of $221.00 from the District 90 office from the 8th Grade Trip Account. District 90 will send a check to Educational Tours to cover the remaining balance of $79.00.

   Scenario 2: Jane Doe has made the four $175.00 deposits earlier in the year for the air tour, but she has also done fundraisers to offset the cost of the trip. Her fundraising totals are $200. Since she is traveling via air, her trip is more expensive. The cost of the air tour is $1,199.00; she has already paid $700.00 in deposits. According to Educational Tours, Jane still owes $499 for her trip and ET will send her a final invoice. Just like with John, she will not pay the final invoice from Educational Tours because
   she has fundraising money that needs to be calculated. Jane will receive a final invoice from our treasurer in late March/early to mid-April that his her fundraising money calculated with the final amount she owes. Jane owed $499; her fundraising equaled $200, therefore her final invoice that she will receive from our treasurer will reflect a remaining balance of $299. She will need to pay that
   remaining balance to Educational Tours.

   Scenario 3: George Doe has made the four $175.00 deposits earlier in the year for the bus tour. He did not participate in any fundraising activities. Educational Tours shows he has a remaining balance of $79, and they send him a final invoice. Because he knows he will not be receiving any fundraising money, he does not need to wait for the invoice from our treasurer and can go ahead and make the final $79 payment to Educational Tours when he receives their invoice.

5. Rating: +0

   

   When parents go online to stop direct deposit payments, a warning tells them that if they cancel payments, their trip will be canceled, is this true?

   As long as one deposit has been made, the student has a reserved spot on the trip. Their trip will not be cancelled as long as their final balance is paid before we leave for the trip. I have spoken with our contact from Educational Tours, and she has confirmed this as well.

6. Rating: -1

   

   How do I get updates on my account balance from the DC Trip Treasurer?

   Inquiries about payment status should be directed to the treasurer.
   Please wait until after mid-October; we will not have an official student trip manifest from ETI until then.

7. Rating: +3

   

   What is the web address for Educational Tours?

   http://www.educationaltours.com

8. Rating: -3

   

   What are the deadlines for trip application/payment?

   Monday, September 28 is the deadline to register for the trip and get your student on the master manifest.
   Parents must get their student registered for the trip by 9/28 or the treasurer will have no account to begin depositing the student's hours and direct sales money.
   Also, we need to get an accurate headcount of flyers vs. bus riders.

   Payments due directly to ETI as follows:
   Monday, September 28 $175
   Monday, November 9 $175
   Monday, December 14 $175
   Monday, January 25 $175
   Balance (less any fundraising dollars applied) is due mid-March, 8 weeks prior to departure date.

9. Rating: +0

   

   When is the last possible day to sign up for the trip?

   The deadline to register for the trip is Friday, January 29. Educational Tours needs to know an exact number of students/adult chaperones traveling so they can make hotel arrangements. If you have registered for the trip within the last few days, you may have been told from Educational Tours that you are on a waiting list. We have been told that the accounting department at Educational Tours is a little behind, and everyone who has signed up during the past week and has a deposit on record is on the trip roster. Again, if you are going on this year's trip, you need to be registered by Friday, January 29.

Fundraising:

1. Rating: +1

   

   How are hours and earning rates calculated?

   Hours will be calculated in half-hour segments and rounded down if time worked is less than 30 minutes. Students earn one hour for each hour worked; parents earn one half-hour for each hour worked to count towards their child’s hour total. Chairpersons will provide the treasurer the total cash earned by each student, the actual time worked for each student, and the actual time worked as well as the credited time for parents (half the actual time worked). All hours and dollars will be calculated by each chairperson and turned into the treasurer two weeks after the close of the event. Any disputes about dollars/hours must be completed within this two-week period. Once the dollars/hours are turned into the treasurer, they are final and will not be changed. Fund raising concludes on Mar 11, 2009. At that time the total amount of money earned by all fundraisers will be divided by the total number of hours worked by all students and parents. That will determine the hourly rate that will be paid to each student to offset the cost of the trip.