ROGERS - The Beaver Local Marine Corps. JROTC program has gone four months without an instructor and school staff are concerned the program could be pulled.
Rebecca Roller, secretary of the Beaver Local MCJROTC program, said several individuals are asking about the status of the program, and she doesn't know what to tell them.
The former instructor, Major Thomas McGrath, resigned in January.
District Superintendent Sandra DiBacco said she is still looking for an instructor. "We have been in touch with the Marine Corps. in Virginia also. We are not sure what they are doing..." she said.
When contacted, DiBacco said she has every intention of keeping the program at the school. She did not offer comment regarding the hiring of an instructor, stating it is a personnel matter.
The Marine Corps. is responsible for providing a list of applicants to the school and the school is responsible for hiring.
DiBacco said she and members of the board of education worked hard to ensure the program wasnt pulled by the Marine Corps. previously.
"The Marine Corps. had already made the decision to pull the program," she said. "(The board and I) did a lot of letter writing, and I have stayed in contact with the Marine Corps. since day one."
The program was first started at Beaver Local in 1972, Roller said, and was almost pulled due to lack of student involvement and instructors.
DiBacco said enrollment is low, but slowly improving.
"We are getting it back up, but it is not a real concern," she said.
Roller believes parents may not want their children to be involved with the program since it appears to have a military focus.
"I think the biggest problem is that with all that is going on in the Middle East people are afraid to let their kids join...but we try to stress that it is a leadership program,"she said.
DiBacco said the administration is looking to apply to other JROTC programs.
