On alert. Donald Trump‘s son Barron may be relieved that he won’t have to change schools and move to Washington after his father’s presidential win, but not everyone at his expensive New York private school is happy he’ll be staying put.
The parents at Barron’s $45,000-per-year private school are anxious and worried about security fears in the wake of Melania Trump’s decision to stay in New York with her son while he finishes out his school year, reports Vanity Fair.
Parents at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, where Barron is enrolled on the Upper West Side, grumbled about having to take the stairs when a school elevator was cordoned off by security for Melania’s parent-teacher night during the campaign, the magazine reports. But after Trump’s surprise win, some parents are now worried about security, including possible kidnappings. Others fret about the logistics of having Secret Service staff around, disapprove of Trump’s politics or are dreading the increased traffic near the school.
“Some parents are freaking out and worked up about security and what the school is going to do,” a school board member told Vanity Fair.
Other parents complain that the Trumps’ unusual decision to stay based in Manhattan, where Barron and Melania will continue to live in their glitzy Trump Tower penthouse in Midtown after the president-elect’s inauguration in January, is typical of the Republican’s “lack of regard for others as well as his lack of respect for protocol,” reports the magazine. Trump’s decision to stay in New York as he works out his administration and transition team is costing city taxpayers roughly $1 million a day, CNN reports.
Trump confirmed on Sunday that his youngest child and Melania will not be joining him in the White House until Barron finishes school. “Like any parents, they are concerned about pulling their 10-year-old son out of school in the middle of the year,” a Trump spokesman said.
Speaking to Us Weekly last January, Melania said she told Barron not to “stress” about uprooting his life in New York City and changing schools.
“At that age, it’s hard to explain to them,” she said. “I tell him: Take it day by day, enjoy your life, live your meaningful life as I like to do. … Of course, at that age, every child would worry, especially if they love school, if they love friends, they don’t want to lose that. Everything is a new opportunity, and it brings new friends and a new school. You never know, you never know what happens. Enjoy it day by day, live your life and don’t stress yourself.”
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