Is a school trip to DC worth it?

This week I have a simple question. Should the 8th grade go to Washington DC for three days on a trip? The history teachers in my school argue that the trip does not support the curriculum so it is a useless trip with little to know academic value. Also should a trip of this magnitude only support the history department? I guess what I am driving at is what does Washington DC have to offer beyond social studies. This is what kills me though. In this case the trip does not support a state test so they want to scrap it all together.

Room Use

Teaching technology comes with responsibilities that not many other teachers can relate to. I need to maintain an entire fabrication shop. This includes machinery, power tools, hand tools, and raw materials. I teach three different grades so i have different projects going on all the time. Unlike a math teacher i need to keep track of more than just text books and pencils. I need to know the condition of my classroom to ensure the safety of my students as well as myself. So hear is the problem. My district has an adult school that comes in and uses my classroom at night without telling me and i walk into a room that is not the way i left it when i left the day before. Its a lot like having someone ells clean your room as a kid. When you first walk in its like a feeling of something is just not right with this room. I am in the process of having them banned from my room. Does anyone ells have a story of other people taking liberties with a classroom that they have no business doing so? Please share.

Give me a credit/debit card already

I am a one man show in my school. I am a department of one. As the head of my department of one i need to order LOTS of crap all the time. wood, plastic, tools, kits, glue more tools and stuff for the three grades that I teach.
In order to make purchases i need to fill out a form have the boss sign it who then passes it on to the secretary of the business office (it collects dust for about a week on her desk) who has the business superintendent sign it and then she mails it out. (She stopped faxing them this year because she said it was to much work) This also limits the vendors i can purchase from because not all businesses will take a purchase order.
If i only had a debit card hooked up to the account for my department I could get materials faster and cheeper than i am now. The school does not want to stretch a buck with good ideas. The system is set up so that i pay more for items than i should. It would be nice if i could put down the hammer and chisel to make my orders and swipe a card.