Teachers sacrifice to help save school

OAK RIDGE, N.C., April 14 (UPI) -- Teachers at Oak Ridge Military Academy in North Carolina will give up 5 weeks pay to help keep the 158-year-old school open, officials said Tuesday.

Col. Roy Berwick said the school is in a financial crisis because of rising costs and lower than expected enrollment, WXII-TV in Winston-Salem reported. He said the financial sacrifice agreed to by teachers and staff members will help close the budget gap, but the school still needs to find more money.

"I'm extremely honored to work with a group of professionals so willing to put everything on the line for the academy," Berwick said.

Oak Ridge was founded as a boys boarding school by the pacifist Quakers and only became a military academy in 1929. In 1972, the school was the first military boarding school to begin admitting girls.

Its best-known alumni are NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dee Snider, lead singer of Twisted Sister.