JROTC will shut down in June
Stephen Decatur only six students short of Navy program enrollment requirement
Commander Chris Deming teaches a JROTC Naval Science class at Stephen Decatur High School on Tuesday. / Laura Emmons photo BERLIN -- If six more students at Stephen Decatur High School were part of its Navy JROTC program, the Navy wouldn't be planning to shut the program down.
School officials, knowing the NJROTC chapter will be eliminated June 30 because of failure to meet a 100-student enrollment requirement, are trying to reverse the Navy's decision. But Navy officials are adamant.
The Army JROTC -- Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps -- at Wicomico High School serves all high schools in Wicomico County and currently has 97 students enrolled, though they started the year well over the 100-student enrollment minimum with 121 cadets participating at the start of the year.
In Somerset County, Student Information Specialist Allison Romano said the Air Force JROTC at Washington High had 70 students enrolled this year and the Army JROTC at Crisfield Academy had 40 students enrolled at one point this school year. She said it appeared those programs calculated their enrollment requirements relative to student population.
"The Army uses data from the Opening Enrollment Report, which is submitted on Oct. 15 of each school year to determine if a program stays or goes and what the funding will be for each program," Wicomico County schools spokeswoman Tracy Sahler said.
For Stephen Decatur, the decision is "pretty much set in stone," said Lt. Charity Hardison, spokeswoman for the Naval Service Training Command, which oversees the nation's Navy ROTC units.
"At this time, there is no action that Stephen Decatur would be able to take to warrant another decision or review," Hardison said in an interview.
Stephen Decatur's program is one of 19 across the nation slated to be shut down. It is critical for the Navy to hold accountable the ROTC units that are not in compliance with program directives, according to Rear Adm. David Steindl, commander of the NSTC. They cannot maintain units that consistently fail to meet minimum enrollment standards, he said.
This year, the ROTC fell six students short of the quota with an enrollment of 94, its highest in recent years. Preliminary scheduling from incoming students indicated enrollment "well over" 100 next year, school officials said.
"There's no doubt we'll make our numbers next year," said Cmdr. Christopher Deming, one of the program's two instructors. "We're being optimistic, and we really hope we can turn this decision around."
Rep. Andy Harris, R-1st.-Md., is working with Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski to propose a one-year extension on the disestablishment as a temporary solution while they look into what can be done in the long term to keep the program active.
They plan to get in touch with the congressional liaison from the Navy and dig a little deeper into why the criteria to stop funding a unit is an "arbitrary number like 100," Harris said.
Freshman Nicholas Bertino is one of the 94 student cadets. He and senior member Shannon McGarry have circulated a petition throughout the school supporting the program and contacted military figures in the area who may be willing to help their cause.
Snow Hill and Pocomoke high schools have Marine Corps ROTC programs that easily exceed the enrollment requirement, according to district spokeswoman Barb Witherow. Since both schools have less than 1,000 students enrolled, they have to meet a requirement of 10 percent student enrollment in their programs. Pocomoke has 74 members, and Snow Hill has 67.
School officials, knowing the NJROTC chapter will be eliminated June 30 because of failure to meet a 100-student enrollment requirement, are trying to reverse the Navy's decision. But Navy officials are adamant.
The Army JROTC -- Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps -- at Wicomico High School serves all high schools in Wicomico County and currently has 97 students enrolled, though they started the year well over the 100-student enrollment minimum with 121 cadets participating at the start of the year.
In Somerset County, Student Information Specialist Allison Romano said the Air Force JROTC at Washington High had 70 students enrolled this year and the Army JROTC at Crisfield Academy had 40 students enrolled at one point this school year. She said it appeared those programs calculated their enrollment requirements relative to student population.
"The Army uses data from the Opening Enrollment Report, which is submitted on Oct. 15 of each school year to determine if a program stays or goes and what the funding will be for each program," Wicomico County schools spokeswoman Tracy Sahler said.
For Stephen Decatur, the decision is "pretty much set in stone," said Lt. Charity Hardison, spokeswoman for the Naval Service Training Command, which oversees the nation's Navy ROTC units.
"At this time, there is no action that Stephen Decatur would be able to take to warrant another decision or review," Hardison said in an interview.
Stephen Decatur's program is one of 19 across the nation slated to be shut down. It is critical for the Navy to hold accountable the ROTC units that are not in compliance with program directives, according to Rear Adm. David Steindl, commander of the NSTC. They cannot maintain units that consistently fail to meet minimum enrollment standards, he said.
This year, the ROTC fell six students short of the quota with an enrollment of 94, its highest in recent years. Preliminary scheduling from incoming students indicated enrollment "well over" 100 next year, school officials said.
"There's no doubt we'll make our numbers next year," said Cmdr. Christopher Deming, one of the program's two instructors. "We're being optimistic, and we really hope we can turn this decision around."
Rep. Andy Harris, R-1st.-Md., is working with Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski to propose a one-year extension on the disestablishment as a temporary solution while they look into what can be done in the long term to keep the program active.
They plan to get in touch with the congressional liaison from the Navy and dig a little deeper into why the criteria to stop funding a unit is an "arbitrary number like 100," Harris said.
Freshman Nicholas Bertino is one of the 94 student cadets. He and senior member Shannon McGarry have circulated a petition throughout the school supporting the program and contacted military figures in the area who may be willing to help their cause.
Snow Hill and Pocomoke high schools have Marine Corps ROTC programs that easily exceed the enrollment requirement, according to district spokeswoman Barb Witherow. Since both schools have less than 1,000 students enrolled, they have to meet a requirement of 10 percent student enrollment in their programs. Pocomoke has 74 members, and Snow Hill has 67.
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