Earlier this summer, I posted that the popularity of a program at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School was threatening its future. The high enrollment for the Junior ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program triggered the need for a second instructor. But the school didn’t budget for it.
Southborough Wicked Local reports that the program’s original instructor has resigned over the situation. His statement refers to it as a “cadet safety issue”. The school plans to hire a replacement and continue the program with one instructor for the at least 122 cadets this year.
Administrators are playing down the program’s probation status. Meanwhile others are voicing frustration that the school didn’t budget for the second instructor.
The superintendent has claimed that the request for a second instructor came after the budget was finalized. But the auxilary program supporting the JROTC is publicly refuting that. And the school committee has rejected their efforts to raise outside funds for the extra position.
One thing both sides agree on is the value of continuing the program. Auxilary leadership expressed gratitude that the school is working with them to keep it going.
Here are some highlights from the article:
Randolph “Gunner” Mann, who was the program’s Senior Military Instructor, resigned in June, citing the school’s decision not to hire a second instructor for next year as mandated by the Marine Corps.
“The inability for resolve to come to this issue, that I believe to be a cadet safety issue, leaves me no choice but to make the hard choice in an effort to protect these cadets,” Mann said in a statement. . .
According to [Superintendent Ernie] Houle, the school committee supported the idea of hiring a second instructor for next year, but when the issue was initially raised before the committee in January, the budget for Fiscal Year 2017 had already been approved. . .
However, auxiliary member Colleen Laurence claims that Mann informally told school administrators of the need for a second instructor in September 2015, by which point the budgeting process was not finalized. Additionally, Laurence said that the program has exceeded 75 students for the past two years, making the need for another instructor clear. . .
In reaction, the auxiliary began raising funds to help defray the cost of the instructor, raising $30,000 from various donors. The school committee considered accepting the gift, but it ultimately chose not to accept any donations. Houle explained that allowing outside groups to contribute to personnel salaries could set an inappropriate precedent. . .
[Houle] noted that the Marine Corps rarely disbands units as large as Assabet’s, so probationary status is simply a warning.
Click here for the full article.
