WESTBROOK – Westbrook’s School Committee has determined that Greece is too dangerous a locale for an upcoming student trip.

A group of Westbrook Middle School students hoped to spend April vacation marveling at ancient Greek architecture, but will settle for Spain after the school committee denied the trip request.

Seventh-grade teachers Sarah Bouchard and Steve Moulen brought a proposal to the committee meeting on Nov. 3 requesting permission to bring 11 students on a trip to Italy and Greece during April vacation in 2011.

However, committee members voiced disapproval, worrying that anti-American sentiment could place the students in danger.

The teachers presented statistics suggesting children were far more likely to be victims of violence in the United States than elsewhere, and said the students would even be taking self-defense classes before leaving, but their arguments did not sway the committee.

Committee chairman Ed Symbol, who lived in Greece in the 1980s, said the matching shirts the students planned to wear would mark them easy targets.

“If you look at it on a map, it’s in the middle of everything. Libya to the south, Turkey and Syria to the east. I don’t think it’s a great place for 12 or 14 middle school kids to be going,” he said.

“I have to rely on someone who’s lived there for three years and (seen) the anti-American sentiment that’s there,” added committee member Jim Violette. “It’s good that you took self-defense courses but you’re not going to be armed.”

The committee unanimously rejected the Greece and Italy trip, but did approve an alternative trip to Italy and Spain. Moulen said one of the consequences was one or two students were not going if the trip was not to Greece.

The trip will occur April 16-24, 2011. The trip is for students of the middle school’s Leadership Club, formerly known as the Travel Club.

Matthew Nelson, the middle school’s dean of curriculum, said the club’s focus has changed through the years but has consistently focused on building leadership skills by empowering students to make decisions.

“This is a student-centered club where students decide on the focus of the club and work with parents and teachers to plan every aspect of the trip and fundraise to supplement the cost of the trip that is primarily borne by the parents,” he said.

According to Bouchard, the club researched numerous trips and selected Greece and Italy by majority vote.

A written proposal states the 10-day trip was offered by EF Tours, a company with more than 40 years of experience conducting such trips. The company would have provided $10 million in liability insurance per student.

In an interview after the meeting, Symbol said he understood the committee’s decision was unpopular, but he stood by it.

“Whether we like it or not, whether it makes sense or not, we’re not that popular overseas right now,” he said.

Symbol said he also opposes the Spain and Italy trip and does not think students should be taking any trips overseas that are affiliated with the schools.

He instead advocated for students to form a group outside the school and pursue a trip that way.