A contractual disagreement between D.C. Public Schools and a bus company kept dozens of students from attending a scheduled ski trip to Pennsylvania.
Students from five D.C. schools -- Maury, Moten, Hyde-Addison elementary schools, Stuart-Hobson Middle School and Capitol Hill Montessori -- were scheduled to leave for Pennsylvania's Liberty Mountain early Thursday morning. Parents said the trip cost approximately $75.
However, the early morning pick-up time came and went without any of the buses showing up to their designated schools.
"The DCPS had not paid the bus company and the bus company said there was a dispute about the bills. They had warned DCPS that they weren't going to provide buses for this activity," parent Caryn Ernst said.
According to the Washington Post, DCPS owes the bus company, Capitol Entertainment Services, $430,000 for services during the past two years.
Two buses ended up picking up students from Maury and Moten, but the rest of the children were left in the dark.
"As soon as we can, we will be in touch with students, families, and schools, to apologize, explain what happened, and discuss measures to ensure that this doesn't happen in the future," D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson wrote to a concerned parent.
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Representatives with Capitol Entertainment Services have not returned News4's calls. D.C. officials say they're planning to reschedule the ski trips.
