JROTC program OK?d for next year: Program?s long-term stability depends on higher enrollment

First Sgt. Ernest Brewington gives commands to Warren County High School JROTC students during a drill. The school board has granted its approval for continuing the JROTC program next year.

Last week the school board OK?d the high school?s 2006-07 curriculum and JROTC was among the programs gaining approval.

?It?s in for next year,? said Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale. ?We?re going ahead and hiring new instructors.?

The new instructors are needed because current teachers, Col. John Black and 1st Sgt. Ernest Brewington, are both retiring at the end of this school year. That, combined with the fact JROTC enrollment has been dwindling, caused school officials to evaluate the program.

That evaluation apparently revealed JROTC was not necessary as Black and Brewington were informed the program would likely be canceled next year.

The reaction was less than peaceful. In true Army form, students and parents showed they were willing to fight to keep JROTC. They let educators know their feelings, including parent Diane Hill who spoke at Tuesday?s school board meeting.

?We?re worried if it gets dropped, it will never be picked back up again,? said Hill, who came to the meeting with 600 signatures on a petition supporting JROTC.

Hill was accompanied by her daughter, Denise, who is a junior in JROTC. Denise said current students are preparing to visit all eighth-graders in the county in hopes of persuading rising freshmen to register for the program.

It is enrollment, or lack thereof, which put JROTC on the chopping block in the first place. The Army requires at least 100 students to be enrolled at the beginning of school and only 69 high school students have currently pre-registered. That figure doesn?t include rising freshman.

?We look at different programs as they rise to the surface and with both instructors retiring, it was a natural time to look at JROTC,? said school board chairperson Dr. Debbie Watlington. ?Your numbers should be higher. If this is so important, you need to work on your numbers.?

Although the Army requires at least 100 students, Dr. Hale says that figure should actually be higher by local school system standards. Since the Army requires two instructors to be employed, there should be around 185 students to put JROTC in line with the accepted student-teacher ratio.

?With 150 to 200 students, I?d consider it a good, stable program,? said Hale. ?Although we have been told by the commander at Fort Knox that he thought a realistic goal for a school our size should be 300.?

While JROTC will be offered next year, the program?s long-term stability will ultimately depend on better enrollment.

?It will boil down to the numbers,? said school board member Mike Holland. ?And that?s the way it is with any class at the high school.?