Darien School Group Fights To Get Money Back

DARIEN, IL — Band students at Darien's Eisenhower Junior High had planned to go on a trip to Atlanta last year, but officials canceled it because of the pandemic.

Before the cancellation happened, the school and its band boosters had paid $17,400 to the tour operator. That money has not been returned. The trip was set for April 2020.

The tour company, Lisle-based Vanguard Tours, said it would give back much of the money when suppliers return the amounts that the company had already paid.

In an email to Patch last week, Eisenhower Principal Jacob Buck said the school does not know how much money it will get back.

"The district will continue to work with the Band Boosters and the vendor to come to a fair resolution," Buck said. "The district is committed to creating the best experience for our students involved in Band, and working with the Band Boosters to ensure any loss of money does not affect the programming, offerings, or opportunities made available to the students."

Recently, Patch filed a public records request Darien School District 61 for documents related to the efforts to get the money back. The district provided a number of records.

In a July 7 email, Eisenhower's band director, Danny Tedeschi, asked Vanguard Tours about the status of the money. He said he knew things were up in the air because of businesses and cities being shut down, but thought he would reach out again given that many places were reopening.

"I know that when we met last you said that reimbursements would be given due to something out of our control," Tedeschi said. "I told my principal this and the school has already moved forward with reimbursing families' expenses because of this."

In a response two days later, Bob Reich, owner of Vanguard Tours, noted that he has been trying to get money he had already paid contractors in Atlanta.

"Atlanta has been a mess. First, most of the venues (museums, aquarium, etc.) remain closed and their group divisions were not operating, then all the unrest and protests have not helped anything to get back to any semblance of normal!" he said.

Tedeschi reached out a few weeks later to ask again about the status of the money.

Reich responded that the pandemic severely impacted the tour business, which had no income coming in. Some major companies, he said, have closed or filed for bankruptcy. He described Vanguard, which specializes in school trips, as in trouble.

In other cases, Reich said, Vanguard was able to refund 60 to 70 percent to clients. But he said the costs of operating the business could not be retrieved.

"Eisenhower is in a separate situation," he said. "Less than 35 percent of the tour cost had been paid to Vanguard before the cancellation. It is going to take some time to work this out."

In a later email, Karen McPherson, a member of the Band Boosters, thanked Tedeschi for his "persistence" in contacting Vanguard. But she said she was concerned and suggested possible legal action.

"I know it is a hardship for all small businesses, but our organization cannot take another hit to our finances," she said. "The fact that we only paid 35 percent of our total cost versus other organizations paying a greater (percentage) of their trip is not relevant to our organization. If Vanguard is solvent, they should reimburse us immediately."

In a recent interview, Reich told Patch that he was working with suppliers to get the money that was paid before the pandemic hit.

"It's been very rough on the travel business, particularly student travel," Reich said. "We are not considered an essential entity. We have not been able to get outside help with the government."

He said that as a former band director, he would do everything he could to make sure to return money that did not belong to Vanguard.

"We are a business, and we need to stay solvent. We do have costs," Reich said.