MIDDLEBORO —  Middleborough has been granted approval to reimburse members of the Middleborough High School Class of 2020 whose senior trip was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Town Manager Robert Nunes and Select Board Chair Mark Germain have announced. 

On Thursday, Sept. 29, the Town of Middleborough was informed by the office of State Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, that the State Senate, House of Representatives and Gov. Charlie Baker authorized the Town of Middleborough to pay members of the Class of 2020 a reimbursement for their canceled senior class trip.

This announcement follows months of discussion with local and state officials in which the town sought to reimburse the Class of 2020 after their senior class trip to Orlando, Fla. in April 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. 

A total of 57 families sought reimbursement after the trip was canceled.

The trip cost a total of $2,150 with a $100 non-refundable deposit. Those who paid for the trip were able to get a partial refund of $1,120 for airfare but were still left with a portion of the money they paid missing due to the closure of the travel company organizing the trip.

Following the state's authorization, a total of $52,480 will be refunded to the 57 families, with each receiving an average refund of $930.

"This reimbursement has been a two-year-long process that we have diligently fought for to ensure that all those who paid for their trip that never happened got their money back," Germain said. "It was an extremely unfortunate situation our seniors dealt with and once this issue was raised to the Board of Selectmen we realized that we had the opportunity to vote on something locally that would have a direct, positive impact on the town. This was truly a great example of the town and its residents doing right by these students. I would like to thank our Board members, Town Manager Nunes and our town meeting members for voting this through at the local level. I would also like to personally thank Sen. Pacheco and Rep. Norman Orrall for taking my calls and advocating alongside the Town of Middleborough at the state level to ensure that the state delegation passed this through." 

This issue was first raised by Germain before the Select Board on Feb. 22, 2021, following a request by affected families. The board decided that this issue would go to vote at Town Meeting as a Home Rule Petition, which members voted to approve at the Annual Town Meeting in spring 2021.

Once approved by the town, the select board continued to fight for this reimbursement at the state level. Pacheco and Orrall advocated for this reimbursement at the Statehouse. Their efforts included a Senate Council Meeting and three readings at the House of Representatives. 

“I am very pleased to have worked cooperatively with the Town of Middleboro officials as well as the local families involved to help resolve this unfortunate situation,” said Pacheco, the Dean of the Massachusetts Senate. “Although countless unprecedented challenges arose from the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of reimbursement for local families after the cancellation of Middleborough High’s senior trip seemed like a particularly unjust consequence that added insult to injury. I am honored to have had the opportunity to support local officials in my capacity as State Senator and lead state-level efforts with my colleagues in the House to address the problem at hand on behalf of all the Middleboro students and families affected.” 

Orrall said he was "honored to be part of the team of local and state officials to get this done, including my house colleagues, Representatives Susan Gifford and Kathy LaNatra. I also would like to thank Select Board Chair Mark Germain for providing the information necessary to get the bill passed. He made himself available any time of day, any day of the week. This bill would not have passed without his leadership.’’

Now that the payments have been approved, the Town of Middleborough will automatically provide checks via mail to those eligible for reimbursement. 

Nunes said that he “would like to recognize Chairman Germain for spearheading this endeavor and ensuring that this got the attention it deserved at the state and local levels. I would also like to recognize Sen. Pacheco and Rep. Orrall who advocated and fought for this on behalf of the town and the Class of 2020."