Posted on 12/11/2007 9:57:55 PM PST by SmithL
San Francisco -- The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps gets to stay in San Francisco high schools for one more year, the district's school board decided tonight.
More than 100 students packed the meeting as the board voted 5 to 2 to extend the program through the 2008-2009 school year.
Board President Mark Sanchez and board member Eric Mar voted against the measure.
The board also decided to allow JROTC courses to continue to count toward up to two years of physical education courses, which is required for graduation.
The board voted a year ago to eliminate the 90-year-old program at the end of this school year, with a majority of members then saying its connection with a discriminatory and homophobic military means it has no place in public education.
At the time of the vote, the board also required a task force to identify an alternative program to replace the widely popular leadership program that now serves 1,200 students in seven of the district's high schools.
That task force, however, didn't meet until April. This fall, the group - consisting of district staff as well as JROTC supporters and critics - requested an extension of JROTC at all the high schools, saying there wasn't enough time to develop an alternative by this fall.
School board member Jill Wynns said she's glad the program will continue until a replacement is identified.
"I'm pleased," Wynns said. "I think it keeps trust with the students."
JROTC fosters student leadership skills using a military command structure. The curriculum includes citizenship, the U.S. Constitution, uniform care, navigation skills as well as physical training including marching drills.
The district splits the $1.7 million cost of JROTC with the federal government.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I thought you might be interested.
A WHOLE YEAR reprieve?
The day SF kills this program should be the last day that city gets a dime of federal tax dollars for anything.
“The Bayview Essential School of Music, Art, and Social Justice”
They also approved the creation of the above at the same meeting. I think the name pretty much tells you all you need to know about the place.
My surprise is that SF has enough kids to make a JROTC program worthwhile.
As much as I despise SF for trying to kill JROTC, when I went to high school in SF, the JROTC was for Filipinos only, and that was stated explicitly and often by its members. It was bigoted to the core. So good riddance, in this case, as far as I’m concerned
Damn that San Fransicko must be a sorry ashed place to live.
When I went there on business I always hated to eat in a restaurant or hotel.
What bothered me was about the food handlers and where they might have had their errrr hands the night before.
One whole year is better than no whole year.
Incrementalism is good.
NAMBLA is working on the replacement “leadership” course offering.
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