'Day of Hope' cost school system only $200 less than amount required for school board approval
BATON ROUGE - Dozens of students, parents and teachers have alleged everything from civil rights violations to federal law breaking during a school sanctioned field trip.
East Baton Rouge seniors were expecting to attend a college fair, but ended up at what many described as church service, with lectures about suicide and rape.
According to documents, EBR schools agreed to pay 29:11 Ministries $9,800 for the 'Day of Hope.'
The price tag for the field trip was suspiciously just under the $10,000 threshold for the school board to have to vote on it.
School board vice president Dawn Chanet Collins says the event would have come under a lot more scrutiny if it had to go through them.
"It is incumbent upon us as a school system to make sure we put some checks in place to ensure that when those types of stories and experiences are shared, it's shared in a manner and a format that does not cause more trauma," Collins said.
The school system told WBRZ they have not paid the full amount yet, because they haven't gotten the invoice from 29:11 Ministries. A source said the school system will not pay for the Day of Hope field trip.
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Organization leader Tremaine Sterling did not reply to calls or emails Tuesday.
After our 6 o'clock broadcast, the school district offered a response that didn't add up — insinuating it never did any background research on the group that hosted Day of Hope, the 29:11 organization.