More than 2,000 students were bussed to a rally for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain on Thursday morning in Defiance, Ohio, according to The Crescent-News. In a letter sent home with students asking for parental permission to attend the rally, Defiance City Schools Superintendent Mike Struble said the rally offered a historic opportunity in a town not known for being in the national spotlight.
“Putting party affiliation aside, I believe that this is a once in a lifetime educational opportunity for our students to see a presidential candidate in person,” Struble wrote. “It is a unique occasion to see the U.S. political process as it actually unfolds.”
Dave Bagley, superintendent of Central Local School District, said that the field trip was a learning tool, not a political endorsement from the district.
Campaign rallies may be a learning tool, but the McCain campaign has had its share of controversy colliding with the public schools. A McCain rally at a Fairfax, Va., school was moved following outcry from parents and school board members, who said that the event would violate a district ban on using school grounds for campaign activities during school hours.
