YAKIMA, Wash.-East Valley High School is suspending its Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program for the 2024-25 school year.
East Valley Principal Ryan McDaniel informed JROTC members and their families of the suspension on April 26.
The district and East Valley High decided to suspend the program due to low enrollment and no qualified applicants for the position of JROTC teacher following the retirement of one of the program’s leaders, according to an EVHS press release.
Enrollment in the JROTC program has been declining since 2016, dropping from 180 students to just 43, according to the district.
The drop in enrollment caused the U.S. Army to place the EVHS JROTC program on probation, due to the program’s enrollment numbers not representing 10 percent of the total student enrollment (with current enrollment equal to about 5 percent of the student body).
The Army also requires the JROTC program to have two qualified instructors, something EVHS is currently unable to provide due to the retirement of one of its teachers.
According to the East Valley school district, the teaching position was posted in Dec. 2023 and closed in April with no qualified candidates having applied.
The decision to suspend the JROTC program was not due to any budget or funding shortfalls.
JROTC is funded through a combination of basic education funds from the State, Career and Technical Education (CTE) funds, ASB funds, levy funds, and supplemented by the US military, according to EVHS.
