Future uncertain for Sussex Tech JROTC program

The future of Sussex Tech’s JROTC program is uncertain after the program’s two instructors announced their departures, and no instructor candidates have been identified, school officials said in a Feb. 19 statement.

Sussex Tech Public Information Officer Dan Shortridge said administrators have tried for three weeks to find a way to keep the U.S. Army JROTC Raven Battalion, which comprises about 110 students in all grade levels.

“Officials last week resolved key student scheduling issues which had been a potential obstacle,” Shortridge’s statement said. “Unfortunately, Sussex Tech was informed this week that no eligible instructor candidates have expressed interest in teaching in Delaware.”

Sussex Tech Superintendent Stephen Guthrie said one of Tech’s JROTC instructors has already left to pursue other opportunities, and the other instructor is set to retire at the end of the school year.

Shortridge said that under the JROTC staffing system, school districts are provided with names of eligible candidates to interview and hire. The JROTC Cadet Command sets strict standards for eligibility, and districts must abide by those hiring standards, Shortridge said.

Finding eligible instructors is difficult, Guthrie said, as they must have served a certain number of years in the U.S. Army, must be trained as JROTC instructors and must be approved by JROTC Cadet Command.

Sussex Tech will continue working with JROTC Cadet Command to identify candidates, Shortridge said; however, he said, if eligible instructor candidates cannot be hired by the board’s Monday, March 9 meeting, Tech will begin to formally close the program.

“If the program closes, staff needs to schedule replacement courses for our JROTC cadets for the fall semester,” Shortridge said. Waiting too long could mean courses are unavailable.

Shortridge said cadets should be given enough time, if they choose, to return to their home districts, which may offer JROTC to complete their training.

Shortridge said the district must also begin disposing of U.S. Army equipment and materials. 

“There are strict procedures for the return of the equipment, which one of our retiring instructors has agreed to handle if necessary,” Shortridge said. “Waiting too long would mean this process would be in the hands of Sussex Tech staff with no expertise in these complex regulations.”

The pending cancellation of Sussex Tech’s JROTC program comes after the abrupt cancellation of the school hospitality program in August 2019, leading to a Freedom of Information Act complaint filed with the Delaware Attorney General’s Office. 

A Sept. 9 attorney general opinion stated the Sussex Tech school board decided during an April 2019 executive session to end the hospitality program, and found the board violated the law at its May 13 meeting when it added a vote to its agenda during the meeting to phase out its hospitality program over a four-year period.

In August 2019, the attorney general opinion stated, Guthrie then voided the board’s May 13 vote by immediately ending the program when the hospitality teacher resigned. The attorney general found Guthrie’s decision to be the most serious part of the complaint, but noted whether a superintendent can unilaterally end a program is not a FOIA issue.