Wilton Manors School Field Trip Leads To Threats

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A field trip for young students to a neighborhood bar and grill has led to threats for a Broward school board member.

The field trip controversy has parents in Wilton Manors speaking out and showing support.

This has now escalated to the state level.

It all stems from the fact that this restaurant bar and grill, Rosie's is located in a predominantly gay community.

On Friday, there was heavy police presence outside Wilton Manors Elementary and a strong show of support from parents.

The trip had been previously authorized by kindergarten and first-grade school parents.

A school board member posted pictures she got, criticizing phone calls like one from a man in California.

"I don't understand why you would take a field trip to take children to a gay bar. While you wouldn't take them to the museum. You are a child abuser by taking kids to some bar gay bar, you need to resign. You're not a teacher at all."

The Florida Department of Education even sent an investigator to look into the matter.

The restaurant said nothing like this has ever happened before.

"I'm sad that its people are digging into whatever stereotypes and old notions that they may or may not have."

The kids were separated in an outdoor patio area.

Dan Hill was having lunch but not the waitstaff didn't mentioned to me how cute it was that the kids were learning how to say, please and thank you.

The school board member said most of the criticism came from calls from out of the area and when CBS 4 News checked with the Broward school district, we were told about 20 emails came in and only three were from Broward parents.

The Department of Education came in to check on the matter and they haven't released any results of their findings.