ROTC program fights for its life
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Faced with canceling the local ROTC program at the high school next year, students, parents and current instructors say they are willing to fight to keep it alive.
?We absolutely do not want this program to disappear,? said Col. John Black, who teaches ROTC with 1st Sgt. Ernest Brewington. ?It has produced so many success stories.?
The program, which has been in existence 35 years, costs roughly $100,000 a year, according to Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale. The Army officially sponsors the program and absorbs half that cost.
Hale said a decision has not been finalized about canceling the program. But he did express concerns about student participation.
?At this point nothing has gone away. The school board will decide at its March meeting what to do,? said Hale. ?I do know the ROTC numbers have been dwindling. There are only about 60 students enrolled for next year. It?s sort of like the woodworking program that disappeared a few years ago when they didn?t have the students to support it.?
Black said the only Army requirements in terms of participation are for the program to have at least 100 students at the beginning of the school year. He said that requirement was met this year, although there are only 92 current students.
Black said 69 high school students have signed up for ROTC next year, not including rising freshmen. He said it?s common for 40 to 50 freshmen to register. ?All we need is 31 and we?ll easily get that,? said Black.
Supporters tout ROTC as a way of building character, establishing discipline and producing students who have respect for their elders. It?s perhaps the only class where students can be told to do push-ups.
?ROTC is not for everybody,? said Brewington. ?Just like football and Pioneerettes are not for everybody. But there are some kids here who need this program. It?s important to them.?
That fact is supported by seven letters to the editor already received by the Standard from concerned parents and students.
?For a lot of boys and girls who don?t cheer, dance or play any kind of ball, this gives them something to work for, having to keep their grades up just like any other after-school activity,? wrote freshman Amber Hill in her letter. ?We don?t learn how to run or throw a ball, but we learn how to use ma?am and sir, and how to be respectful to our peers.?
Black and Brewington said they were informed last week by high school principal James Bennett the program would likely be cut next year. As a result, the instructors canceled a March 18 drill meet scheduled at WCHS and they also canceled an upcoming inspection.
?Our thinking is why have a drill meet that?s a major fundraiser if you?re not going to have a program to fund,? said Black. ?And why have an inspection for a program that may not be here??
The fact both Black and Brewington are retiring at the end of the year should have no impact on whether to continue the program, they say. Both positions have been advertised on the Army?s Web site this month and they say there have been nine phone calls about Brewington?s job.
?Finding new instructors is not a problem,? said Brewington.
Both said they didn?t want to end their tenure with the school system under such controversial circumstances, but they are prepared to stand up and fight to preserve a program they believe is valuable.
?I?d rather have a kid in the parking lot practicing drills than on the corner smoking a joint,? said Brewington.
Added student Brent Duncan, ?This has taught me to be a better person and my grades are the best they?ve been my whole life.?
As for what program or programs may use the space currently occupied by ROTC if it is removed, there are several rumors, according to Black. There?s talk of a computer repair class, a cosmetology class, and turning the space into a wrestling room.
The school board is scheduled to decide the matter at its March 23 meeting.