Parents in a Connecticut school district are pushing back against a recent decision to end an annual student field trip to Washington, D.C., a school tradition designed to inspire students to engage in history that dates back decades.

“It’s been kind of devastating in a way because he’s going to miss out on it,” said Melissa Fusco, mother Dylan Fusco, a seventh-grader at a Newington middle school. “He’s got a little brother who’s going to miss out on it now. It’s just not fair.”

Fusco recalled fond memories of traveling to Washington, D.C. as an eighth-grader 24 years ago, and she’s one of 1,200 locals who have signed an online petition asking school officials to reconsider a decision to cut the annual trek to save cash, NBC Connecticut reports.

Dylan Fusco told WFSB he was looking forward visiting the Smithsonian and other museums to learn more about the country’s history and politics, and was shocked to learn the district’s middle school principals opted to do away with the trip starting in the 2019-20 school year.

“It’s a great experience to get out of the classroom and learn in an environment full of history, to be able to learn about America’s history,” he said.

In the past, students in Newington middle schools spent the year learning about the nation’s capital, historic monuments and presidential history, and the trip at the end of the year provided a way to bring those lessons to life, WTNH reports.

Parents balked at the trip’s cancellation and complained to district officials, who called a special town hall on Tuesday to hear from the community. Despite the online petition, pledges from parents to help raise funds, and numerous personal stories about how the trip impacted young students, the Newington Board of Education declined to reverse course.

“There are medical needs. It’s harder and harder for families to get the money together to go on a very expensive trip, there is a lot of liability that goes along with having a trip that is several days overnight,” board chairman Joshua Shulman told parents.

Shulman said the trip costs about $500 per student.

“I understand that parents are going to be upset and they have every right to be upset,” he said, according to NBC Connecticut.

Shulman placed the blame for the decision on middle school principals, who he said do not plan to change course.

“It’s not a decision for the board to make,” he said. “So that will be in the hands of our middle school principals. It’s my understanding they’re sticking with their decision.”

Shulman said other factors principals cited when canceling the trip was difficulty finding substitutes to cover for teachers who serve as chaperones, and concerns about the experience “not fitting with the curriculum,” according to the news site.

Melissa Fusco thinks the excuses are bogus, particularly claims America’s history doesn’t fit.

“I don’t believe that at all,” she told WFSB. “I think it can go along with any eighth-grade curriculum.”

She’s certainly not the only one. The town hall this week was packed with students and parents who feel the same way.

“I am here to support all of the classmates, my son especially and his friends,” parent Michelle Rizzo said, according to WTNH. “For them not to be able to go they are really missing out …

“It’s a great experience for the kids and I’m not happy at all that it’s going to be cancelled,” she said.