San Francisco Eliminates JROTC - school board minutes

SF School Board Notes ^ | 11/15/2006 | buwaya

[buwaya]

District to Eliminate JROTC

After heated public testimony and intense, sometimes angry debate, the board voted Tuesday to eliminate JROTC programs from the district. The program will be discontinued at the start of the 2008-09 school year. Until then, students can continue to enroll and receive class credit.

Commissioners Mark Sanchez, Dan Kelly, Sarah Lipson and Eric Mar voted to cut the program, while Commissioners Jill Wynns and Norman Yee voted against it. Commissioner Eddie Chin was absent from the meeting but sent a statement expressing opposition to the measure.

Some 1,600 students are currently enrolled in JROTC, which includes drum corps, flag corps, drill team and color guard. For now, the students in the program will be absorbed into the regular district curriculum during the day, including physical education classes for ninth- and 10th-graders and regular electives for 11th- and 12th-graders. The board said it will investigate other offerings to replace JROTC’s after-school activities.

Members of the public both in favor of and against the resolution thronged the meeting, while JROTC students staged a noisy demonstration outside. Many students who addressed the board gave emotional testimony about personal experience with the program. Several spoke of how it had kept them out of gangs and gave them motivation and self-esteem. They said it was the only after-school program available to them and that without it they’d be on the streets.

Superintendent Gwen Chan added her voice to the opposition. “While it’s not my wish to meddle in board policy, my heart is heavy with the possible decision to phase out JROTC,” Chan said, adding that her years in the district had shown her the value of the program. Student delegates Diana Suen and Lea Elliott also opposed the measure, and said the Student Advisory Committee strongly supported JROTC. ...

[buwaya]

More at link

Some comments -

This is Pelosi's district, and the people voting to eliminate JROTC were mostly not to the left of Pelosi. It is also no surprise to see that this decision was delayed until after the election, to limit its effect. In many ways this is among the first tangible consequences of the last election.

This seems to be a manifestation of an urge towards a "culture war", no matter the consequences to any individual person, in this case the 1600 kids affected.

Note that SF has a very low proportion of kids/voters, so the board does not really represent parents. Its politics have little to do with childrens welfare.

Even the SF Chronicle seems upset by this.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Supporters of the measure offered equally impassioned testimony. One youngster told of a friend and another of a cousin who had been involved in JROTC, later enlisted in the military, and ended up in Iraq. Supporters said that JROTC was, if perhaps not an overt recruiting mechanism, a tool to create future soldiers and enlistees.

Ridiculous. JROTC was one of the best high school experiences for me.

[johnpannell]

To supporters to this resolution: What's so wrong with encouraging and recruiting our young people to join this country's military!?

[MAD-AS-HELL]

This is GREAT NEWS. The spigots of federal money that GodMother Pelosi (daughter of mobbed up ex mayor of Baltimore)are going to turn off when the Feds deny her district money for banning rotc.

The best thing about Dems gaining power is that they will soon start to show their real colors.

It's just too bad the Republicans are a bunch of spineless fools who would rather give in to corruption than actually adhere to their core principles.

God help us all.

[SevenofNine]

HEY Canteen members is there any way that maybe the Feds could withdrawel funding from Frisco schools

[Williams]

The left wing has terrible plans for this country. Their agenda is anti defense, anti economy, anti fairness, and anti life - to name just a few.

I long argued that the democrat party would eventually get back in power, and that the republican party was not doing the country a favor by letting the democrats move further left without a serious challenge. Most of the new democrat leadership is a real freak show.

For the sake of this country we all should spend more time seriously embarrassing the democrats for being left wing kooks.

[luvie]

I saw that news...about banning Junior ROTC? It should be unconstitutional to ban any club. Bet they didn't ban the gay clubs! Sheesh!

[SevenofNine]

You know what I don't know how many discmination statures that is I wonder if Demo House or Senate would do something probably not this is Nancy Pelosi hood

[luvie]

Well, this would be a good time to point that out and challenge her to step up to the plate!

[buwaya]

Well, its not really that much money. JROTC got about $1,000,000 annually from the DOD. That will be gone, but its a drop in the bucket for the $700 million school district budget.

[taxesareforever]

No one should be surprised by this. San Francisco despises the military except for the money the city can get from it.

[Studious]

Wait until the schools demand they be compensated for the funds they would lose /sarc

[Left2Right]

Another sickening incident of liberal insanity.

I wonder if it would be possible to start a private military style high school in San Francisco? What a slap in the face to the idiot libs that would be!