Students Return - So Does NJROTC

The first day of school came and went Monday with plenty of games, music and fun to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of a new year.

For the NJROTC program at Port St. Joe High School it was something of a new beginning as well.

The Gulf County School Board last week approved spending somewhere between $30,000-$35,000 - the U.S. Navy provides a similar monetary match - to continue the NJROTC program at the high school for at least the coming year.

In truth, this is a pivotal year for the program, which must bring up its numbers a bit to satisfy Navy dictates and avoid the messy summer it has experienced since May, when school board members approved $1.9 million in budget cuts, including the two instructor positions for the NJROTC program.

The district had hoped and prodded the Navy for monetary assistance or permission to use a single instructor in the program. There had been significant back and forth between district officials and the Navy as well as state and federal stakeholder and elected officials.

The district had been initially turned away by the Navy for three primary reasons: it is not located in an economically deprived area; the program numbers did not meet the 10 percent of student population bar the Navy requires; and it could not move forward with one instructor.

But in a letter sent to the district last month, a sort of "are you in or out" kind of letter, Superintendent Tim Wilder said, the district commander for the Navy included a clause in a sentence that essentially said, "even if you have just one instructor."

"That was the opening we had been looking for, the door being cracked a bit for us," Wilder said.

The district barreled through.

The consolidation of some bus routes and savings realized in fuel consumption measures and energy saving efforts by principals at all the schools provided sufficient funds for the district to match the Navy's dollars for a single instructor, Lt. Com. (Ret.) Marty Jarosz.

Things fell into place so quickly that Jarosz had on last Monday, when teachers reported back to work, sent his farewell e-mail to high school Principal Duane McFarland - "I told we fought the good fight and I was looking at a couple of job opportunities," Jarosz said.

The next afternoon, McFarland called Jarosz to ask his availability to travel to Wewahitchka for the regular monthly board meeting during which board members would again consider the funding of the program.

"Nobody regrets the initial decision," Wilder said. "We knew it was the right decision at the time. But I never lost sight of ways to get it done."

"ROTC is so important to the school and our community. We knew if it left it would be over."

Jarosz had similarly cautioned the board that once gone the program would not be back and said he felt a bit like the Biblical Lazarus the rest of last week, the program having risen from apparent oblivion.

"I've got some big shoes to fill," Jarosz said, noting the work of Com. (Ret.) Wayne Taylor the past six or seven years keeping the program moving forward. Taylor has transitioned to being a business teacher at the high school.

"But I think the important thing about the program is the life skills - it is a citizenship and leadership program that will get you through high school, sure, but help you beyond high school."

Students are placed in situations where they must work with the same people every day, like them or not, Jarosz said. They also learn that there are cadets of higher standing, that they will take orders from those cadets, whether they like them or not.

"If you can understand that senior/subordinate relationship, they can work anywhere, even if the boss isn't great," Jarosz said. "We also want them to be more informed citizens."

Essentially, NJROTC has become the civics class that used to teach students about government, about being informed and engaged citizens, about becoming involved and understanding democracy.

"There is also a community service component where we practice what we learned," Jarosz said.

This year is a significant one for the program. Currently, Jarosz said there are about 30 students in the program and the school population is estimated to reach 360-370 so he will need to recruit more freshmen.

A hindrance this summer has been the uncertainty surrounding the program, but now that it has been resolved Jarosz expressed confidence he would be able to recruit more future cadets.

"This is a critical year for the program," Wilder said, adding that with the implementation of seven-period days, increasing elective opportunities, recruitment to the program should be enhanced.

* Another new wrinkle for incoming freshmen approved by the School Board is the credit requirement for graduation. Starting with the Class of 2012, students will need 26 credits to graduate, with the possibility they could earn a total of 28.