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Oak Ridge Military misses payment

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

(Updated 11:31 pm)

By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Oak Ridge Military Academy has failed to meet its scheduled payment this month to the 18 employees it still owes salaries to from last year .

Reginald Ponder, the school’s interim president , said the school has made 11 of the 18 scheduled payments since August .

“It’s a cash flow issue,” he said. “I think we’ve done remarkably well in making the payments we’ve made when you consider we inherited a school with a million dollars in debt and no money.”

The school sent the back pay, originally due earlier this month, to its payroll company Tuesday and the repayments should be back on schedule, Ponder said.

Money earned this year will pay for the current year’s operations.

Previous debts, including unpaid salaries and vendor debts, will be paid for through financial gifts and grants.

The nearly 160-year-old academy almost closed last school year when it nearly ran out of money. Teachers stopped receiving pay in April, though many continued to work without pay through the end of school in May.

The school also struggled to pay its debts. The school replaced its governing board and contracted with Ponder, who replaced the school’s former president, Roy Berwick.

The school expected to have as many as 79 students enrolled this fall. However, there are only 61 students currently enrolled, Ponder said.

He believes enrollment will reach 70 students by November.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com

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JC

October 13, 2009 - 12:59 pm EDT

I think they are doing all they can. My hat is off to them for trying to save this school

watchdog

October 13, 2009 - 1:21 pm EDT

Remember they're "trying to save the school" has also involved hiring a coach and an athletic director fired from another high school for lying and manipulating the rules. Is this really a good message to the Oak Ridge students?

BigE42058

October 13, 2009 - 3:55 pm EDT

I can tell you that the profits for the school from this years basketball programs schedule will probably pay more than a few paychecks. Bringing Coach K in there was probably the smartest move that school has made in years. It is most likely why they are still open at all. Of the 61 students enrolled, according to the article, I know at least 7 are basketball players, not attracted by the fact that they get to wear a uniform, but following Coach K and his superior ablility. Their ( the correct spelling when used outside the quotation marks watchdog ), talents will be showcased for major colleges, and this will attract attention to ORMA, maybe influencing other students decisions on were to attend school. Like it or not, athletics is a big money maker.
As for " watchdogs " comments about the hiring of a " fired " coach and athletic director. Coach Force was not fired, he was given the choice to resign. He was then allowed to take retirement instead of resigning. He is not, as was reported, the AD of ORMA. He has since taken a teaching position, as reported in the News & Record. The new AD of ORMA was a NON - FACULTY assistant football coach at NGHS. As for the message it sends to the students, how about: The real world is run by successful people, become one.

dcolin

October 14, 2009 - 12:26 am EDT

"The real world is run by successful people, become one."

Actually its the real world is corrupt.

Learn from your coach

watchdog

October 13, 2009 - 4:36 pm EDT

So the ends justify the means, BigE? And if by "successful people" you mean those who cheat to get along in the "real world," you can have it. I don't buy that and I don't teach it to my children.

spyderrms

October 14, 2009 - 12:27 pm EDT

Thank you watchdog. I am so sick and tired of trying to teach my children the right way to live, only to have cheaters and liers get all the rewards. Hopefully everyone will get their true rewards eventually.

yakyak

October 13, 2009 - 7:21 pm EDT

Oak Ridge--aka JOKE Ridge--is an anachronism in a country increasingly opposed to militarism. It is time for that school to fade away. Imagine not paying the teachers while pouring money into basketball and even more money into PR to obfuscate such financial ineptitude. The teachers should walk out, and the school should close.

ccook

October 14, 2009 - 8:36 am EDT

I went to Oak Ridge, and I would not trade my experiences while I was in school at ORMA for all the money in the world. It has produced outstanding leaders in business, athletics, education, and government. While some graduates go on to enlist or enter the military after college, fully 100% of the graduates are accepted into college, and usually some of the best colleges in the US.

George Stephens, who caught the first forward pass in football in 1895 (on record) and went on to found "The American Trust" bank, which would become NCNB (and later Nations Bank), is an ORMA graduate. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. attended Oak Ridge. Currently, an ORMA graduate serves on the White Council for Environmental Quality as an assistant director. Not to mention the 127 ORMA graduates who received the Purple Heart, and the 27 who were awarded the Silver Star, during World War II. For a school that on average has an enrollment of 190, I think that speaks volumes to the character of the students who attended it, and the faculty who taught them.

While the military school experience is not for everyone, Oak Ridge has proven that it has a place in education and can successfully produce graduates who make a difference in their community and country. ORMA is currently in a "trainwreck," no one can dispute that. But don't tell me that it does not have a place in today's world, we need more schools like ORMA (and it is the only military academy left in North Carolina). I hope the school's current leadership will resolve the crisis that it is in, and they have my support as an alumnus.

Persevering 1

October 15, 2009 - 6:55 pm EDT

Yes, Oak Ridge is/was a great school. I am one of the people to whom they owe the back pay, and we helped make it great. We worked for months without pay, and deserve our salaries. We chose to stay there and keep it open, and to try and keep it a great school, despite the fact that we weren't receiving any money. Without us, they wouldn't even be able to struggle forward this year. Without us, there would be no more illustrious alumni. If we had all walked out like we should have in March, the place would have completely shut down, because parents wouldn't have sent their kids back this year. We worked those hours in March, April and May. Now it's October. Time to pay up. Find the money somewhere.

Consider This

October 14, 2009 - 7:19 am EDT

Oak Ridge has a tough job. Dropping the obvious basketball scholarships, they are gaining income from about 25 boarders and 25 day students. Adding minor incomes and school district rent, they are likely only able to muster about $1M in cash for the year. That is about what they owe in back pay and taxes.
They need about $2M more to pay for the year. That will have to be gained through donations and likely doesn't include the mortgage payment. It is a tough job for a development director who is also the admissions director. Otherwise, they will have to sell a bunch of basketball tickets.