Carroll Schools Suspend Field Trips To Baltimore City

WESTMINSTER, MD — Carroll County Public Schools officials have recommended canceling field trips to Baltimore City until further notice, according to the Carroll County Times. Superintendent Stephen Guthrie reportedly made the decision with encouragement from the sheriff after a parent expressed concern.

The policy in Carroll County is not a complete ban on Baltimore, according to Fox 45. Trips can be reviewed on a "case-by-case basis" by individual schools and administrators, who may make modifications to ensure safety such as preventing children from having free time, a school spokesperson said. The guidelines will be revisited in January 2018, the TV station reported.

An email from the assistant superintendent on Nov. 22 announced the Carroll County school system's new policy, effective immediately, suspending travel to Baltimore City, according to the Carroll County Times.

The Carroll County Sheriff's Office provided a statement to the Times issuing its support for the move, citing "recent violence in the traditional tourist areas of the city."

Baltimore has reported 315 homicides for the year to date as of Tuesday, Nov. 28.

"Violence in the city is out of control," Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said at press conference Nov. 9 after a rash of assaults by juveniles.

• A Federal Hill woman was beaten with wood on Halloween, breaking her eye socket, according to WBAL. Two 15-year-old girls and two 15-year-old boys were arrested, Baltimore Police Chief of Media Relations T.J. Smith said.
• Digital Harbor students were attacked with bats by a group of young people on Halloween, according to WJZ.
• A family visiting from New Jersey was attacked at the Inner Harbor on Oct. 21, the day of the Baltimore Running Festival, according to WJZ.

Since the introduction of the new policy regarding travel to Baltimore, at least two Carroll County school-related outings have been canceled.

The Francis Scott Key High School band has withdrawn from the Mayor's Annual Christmas Parade in north Baltimore this weekend, according to WJZ, which reported Mayor Catherine Pugh's spokesperson issued a statement that she was "disappointed" in the decision.

The Westminster Elementary third-grade field trip to the Maryland Science Center has been canceled, according to the school's website.

It's not the first time that a school system has suspended its travels to Baltimore. After the riots in April 2015, Anne Arundel, Harford and Prince George's counties temporarily ceased field trips to Charm City.

• Youth Violence 'Unacceptable': Police Commissioner

Image by Elizabeth Janney.