With Junior ROTC cut, Coatesville students and parents facing raising funds for program

Esterlina Wiest couldn't wait to become a student commander of the Air Force Junior ROTC program at Coatesville Area High School in the fall.

The 17-year-old senior was eager to lead the squad that she credits with not only helping whip her into academic shape, but also supporting her when her grandfather was seriously ill.

But unless a group of dedicated parents can raise $157,000 in less than a month, Wiest and almost 100 fellow cadets will have to find another way to sample military life.

In the spring, citing financial difficulties, the Coatesville Area School Board discontinued Junior ROTC - a scenario being repeated in struggling districts across the country. As school budget woes grow, the nearly century-old program becomes ever more a target, said Philip Berube, a spokesman for the national Air Force Junior ROTC program.

Created by the National Defense Act of 1916, Junior ROTC focuses on leadership skills and community service for students who may, or may not, enter the military.

Each branch has its own version; among the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard, 495,000 students in grades nine through 12 are enrolled.

Coatesville's Air Force program, PA 771 unit, has been a mainstay at the high school for more than three decades, during which it earned honors that put it among the top 10 percent of Junior ROTC units in the nation.

"If you cut the program," Wiest lamented, "kids like me that didn't have a voice and now have a voice won't have anywhere to go."

Calling themselves the Friends of PA 771, a group of 20 parents, along with cadets and supporters, vow to save Junior ROTC by funding it themselves. They face an Aug. 12 deadline - the last day the national program can be notified if a unit is to be cut.

"We understand that all school districts are struggling," said Safiya Edwards, a leader of the effort whose 16-year-old son, Chasan, is in the Coatesville unit. But the $157,000 cost of Junior ROTC is a small percentage of the district's $138.45 million budget, she said, "and it prepares students for college and the workforce. It's such an asset."

With shrinking government funding, the district can't afford it, said solicitor James Ellison, who described the decision as "purely budgetary."

The Coatesville district ended the 2011-12 fiscal year with a $4.3 million deficit and borrowed money to pay its debts. It also eliminated about 30 positions for the next school year, Ellison said.

Parents have argued that the district, like others across Pennsylvania, recently received additional funding in the form of a one-time state allocation that could be used to spare the ROTC program. But the money - $1 million in Coatesville's case - is being set aside for unplanned expenses that come up during the school year.

District officials targeted Air Force Junior ROTC because the program is underused, Ellison said. So far, 83 students have signed up for it - short of the minimum of 100 required by the national program. For that, Ellison said, the unit could be placed on probation.

More students intend to enroll, Edwards countered, but have yet to officially register.

As of this week, supporters had raised $52,000. They've secured private donations and held car washes, bucket brigades, and beef-and-brews. They are on Facebook, and an online petition has more than 600 signatures. Churches have made contributions; businesses have offered meeting space.

The group has teamed with the nonprofit Coatesville Community Education Foundation. Donations go to the foundation and are designated for the ROTC effort.

At the high school, cadets attend daily classes and earn credits in such subject areas as aerospace science, American history, and leadership. After school, they take part in community service activities.

"It gave me a lot of leadership, but it also gave me a place where it felt like family when I was having problems at home," said Garrett Kinney, a 2012 graduate and former student commander. He now is working at Burger King but expects to enter West Virginia University next year to study aerospace engineering and join the college ROTC program.

Cadets wear uniforms once a week, and sometimes get teased.

"I was hesitant [to join] because it wasn't the cool thing to do," Wiest said, "but as time went on, we did cool things."

For 16-year-old Paul Draper, about to begin his junior year, the program was nearly a last resort. He hated school, and his parents had tried to interest him in a number of activities to spark his interest. Nothing worked until he discovered Junior ROTC.

"I was always gifted academically. I just didn't like the experience of it," he said. "The instructors and senior cadets changed my entire high school experience."