In N Out Burger will be my choice to eat at today.

The benefit concert with the Peninsulaires Choir I will be at.

Welcome Back

How much money per kid are they short? 50k sounds padded.

How many parents went on this trip anyway?

As for the chaperones they should just pay and not ride on the back of the kiddies.

And who was the travel agent and where were they in helping to fix this situation?

Singing concerts and selling CDs is the best plan.

$50,000 for 54 people is about $925 per person for one week, or $125 per person per day. Living on the cheap?

Ever been to Paris? Its freaking expensive. Ever read a newspaper? Reports of volcano-induced price gouging were common.

$125 per day in Paris is living on the cheap. Figure out the basic expenses - lodging, food, etc. for 54 people!

And who was the travel agent and where were they in helping to fix this situation?

The kids stayed 3 to 4 in a room. Seems to me their some explaining that needs to take place. At a least some accounting other than 50k because we say so.

Again the travel agent should step-up and clear up this matter "codesharing flights" get the rights given to passengers. You should note, under EU regulations the airline is on the hook for compensation.

See this report from the BBC: Web Link

You can get a copy of the EU regulations from this BBC page.

I was a chaperone on this trip. Of course we adults will pay our fair share of the extra expenses and not "ride on the back of the kiddies". Many of us are already carrying expenses for the whole group on our personal credit cards.

Our travel agents were excellent during the "crisis" and are now are actively working to recover whatever expenses they can from the airlines, but the situation is complicated. We don't know yet what the final bill per participant will come to, but we do know that it will be a hardship for many families to come up the extra amount in a timely fashion so Jill Denny and others don't have the carry this debt personally.

For those of you who are inclined to second-guess the decisions that Ms. Denny made under these unprecedented circumstances, ask yourself what you would want a teacher to do if it were your child stranded for an indefinite amount of time thousands of miles from home. Her primary concern was ALWAYS the safety and well-being of the students. She took EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY her responsibility for their care and, if she had to choose between what was cheaper or what was better for the kids, the kids always won. And sometimes cheaper was also better, like having picnic dinners at various spots around town--these were inexpensive and a big hit with the students.

Nobody's at fault here, but somebody has to pay the bills, so if you have it in your heart to chip in something to help out the students from less affluent homes, we'd all be grateful.

Would a few of the Choir members like to sing at the Milk Pail this Sunday for tips and contributions towards their fundraiser? The Milk Pail would match contributions up to an agreed amount.

Maybe Hobees, Maltbys, Red Rock, 24 hr Fitness, MV Library, Shoreline Grill, Country Gourmet, Tied House (great house made Root Beer), El Camino Hospital would allow small groups from the Choir to sing for donations ?

The Madrigals serenaded us last December while we were dining at Kapp's Pizza and they also offered CDs for sale. Maybe some of the downtown restaurants would allow them to make another round to sing for donations?

Kudos to Ms. Denny, Randa and all other chaperones for bringing the MVHS students home, safe and sound. I love Paris but this was a stressful way to experience it. If every Mountain View and Los Altos/Hills households gave a few dollars to help out the Madrigals at their fundraisers, they'd have what they need. I'm in. And great idea by "Mr. Milk Pail", Steve Rasmussen, too for a little seranade at the Milk Pail by the Madrigals!

Just an update--thanks to the generosity of many, many people, the hard work of our travel agent to negotiate a reduced hotel bill and to recover insurance money, and to Jill and the choir for all their extra fundraising concerts, CD sales, etc. the $50k+ debt has now been cleared! The extra expense for individual families was pretty much limited to covering the cost of the kids' food during that extra week.

Thanks to all of you who helped out the Madrigals and the MVHS choral program!