SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Slippery Rock Area school board’s educational programming committee heard a pitch Monday evening, Jan. 26, on what offering the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program in the high school would look like.

High school principal Cory Hake brought retired Army Lt. Col. Doug Hermann to Monday’s committee meeting, where he gave a short presentation on the program, which has potentially sizable interest.

Hake said conversations with Hermann began some months ago, and he has since been able to gauge interest in the high school student body. He said over 50 students reported some interest in the program.

When Hermann spoke to the committee, he made sure to clear up a few major misconceptions about the program. He clarified that students are under no obligation to serve in the military, and there would be no training on how to fight as part of the curriculum.

“They use dummy rifles for drill and ceremony, so it’s not about that. It’s really about leadership, citizenship, teamwork and accountability. Weapons training is not in the day-to-day curriculum,” he said.

Hermann said the program is not recruitment, but the military sponsors the program. As a result, it reimburses half all program costs back to the district and offers a higher rank to those enlisting out of high school.

He also clarified that students normally only wear their uniforms for one day a week and the program serves as an elective course, not as a replacement for any core subjects.

“If you look on the JROTC website, it’ll talk about some of the statistics that show that JROTC enhances attendance, positive behavior, accountability and graduation rates,” Hermann said.

He cautioned the board against an “unrealistic desired timeline,” as establishing the program requires a formal application to and approval from the U.S. Army Cadet Command, which will likely take months on its own.

“For those that want it, we’d be able to really kickstart their education or military career, if they went straight into that. We have a lot of kids that go straight to the military after high school,” Hake said.

Hermann said the district would need to hire a new instructor with certifications, but half the employee’s salary and all benefits would be covered by the military.

While no action was taken or recommended Monday, district officials remarked a program like this could give students who are not interested in other extracurricular activities a new opportunity.

“The hope is that we aren’t merely taking the same group of kids that are already involved in other things and giving them one more choice, but rather taking some kids that had a hard time finding a niche and say ‘that’s something I could see myself be a part of,’” Hake said.