JROTC program threatened by hiring issues
Thirty years ago, through the vision of George Litton, the Junior Reserves Officers’ Training Corps was started at Crest High School.
Recently, that program at Crest has been in danger of disappearing due to hiring challenges.
Litton, a long-time principal at Crest High and a former school board member, pushed for approval and applied for the Crest JROTC through the Air Force in the 1990s
“Col. Bill Meyers was the first officer to lead the Crest High JROTC as it officially began in the fall of 1994,” said Greg Shull, spokesman for Cleveland County Schools. “Col. Meyers and Dr. Litton visited Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, during the summer of '94 to attend training for implementing a successful JROTC program. The JROTC was such a success at Crest High that Dr. Litton assisted Burns High in securing a program as well. The JROTC program at Burns High began shortly thereafter, along with the help of Principal Ron Wilson.”
There are around 70 students in the program at Crest High.
Shelby High ROTC students are bussed to Crest for the program.
Recently, the struggle to find a qualified instructor was brought up during the Cleveland County Board of Education meeting.
Board member Danny Blanton brought up the issue and said if the program is lost, the school would be placed on a long waiting list, and he feared they wouldn’t get it back.
He said there are scholarship opportunities tied to ROTC, and he wanted to see an employee hired.
Superintendent Stephen Fisher said the position is unique, and there are certain qualifications that must be met.
“We have been actively looking at that,” Fisher said. “We’re out there looking. We can't just hire anybody. From our end we’re at a loss because of the qualifications that it takes because of that position.”
Shull said they have recently offered a candidate the position, and they are hopeful he will accept.He said it’s not a new issue and is something the school system has struggled with for awhile.
An instructor was recently hired at Burns, and they’re in the process of finding one for Crest.
“But it is very challenging finding an employee,” Fisher said.
They have to make the hire by March 31, or they will be placed on a waiting list and have to reapply for the program.
Walter Spurling, one of the recently elected board members, said he has prior military experience and looked into being an ROTC instructor but didn’t meet the qualifications. He said the instructor must be retired from the Air Force and has to have a specific rank.
“The pickings for those positions are, it's like a needle in a haystack,” Spurling said.
Anyone interested in becoming an Air Force JROTC instructor must obtain an approved application with Headquarters AFJROTC. Full details about becoming an instructor can be found at: airuniversity.af.edu/Holm-Center/AFJROTC (look under the "Instructors" menu). Also, the minimum education requirement is a bachelor's degree.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: JROTC program threatened by hiring issues
