Ahh, Neshaminy School District gets attention it probably doesn't want after the high school principal tells the student paper to use "Redskins" -- the name of the sports team there -- or else.
He's docked the paper $1,200, a sum that a GoFundMe account would make up in about 15 minutes.
He misses the point that no one tell the editors which LTE to run, unless, of course, the newspaper is a "news" source only in name and not in substance. Actual real newspaper editors have quit over less.
Principal Robert McGee told the student editors to reverse their decision and demanded that the June issue include a letter to the editor that used the disputed term, according to media reports. The students refused to comply, sending the paper to press without McGee’s permission. As a result of that fallout, the Neshaminy School Board approved stricter controls over the content of student publications.
In an excellent writeup by Emily Richmond
Suspended for Not Using a Racial Slur in The Atlantic, we learn that
... [Principal] McGee suspended the paper’s faculty advisor Tara Huber for two days without pay, removed student Gillian McGoldrick as editor in chief for the month of September, and docked the paper $1,200 in funding—the cost of the June issue ...
Earlier this week a coalition of nearly 20 media organizations—including the Society of Professional Journalists—ratcheted up its support for the Playwickian’s staff. In a letter sent to the groups representing the majority of the nation’s school superintendents, local and state school boards, and high school principals, the coalition recommended a “summit” to “set of standards for educationally responsible governance of journalism education, and for the ethical treatment of student voices in general.”
The article links to the the First Amendment Schools project website, sponsored by the First Amendment Center (link and list of schools beyond the principal's logic diagram).
Frank LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center said:
“When we get into a prolonged censorship battle like this one, it stops being about the editorial content and becomes the school trying to show who’s boss,” LoMonte told me. “We crossed that line a long time ago.”
A hat tip to Frank. Check out Frank and SPLC on Twitter.
In case you'd like to drop a line, here's the school board from the "School Directors" page:
Mr. Scott E. Congdon, Region 1 - President
scongdon@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Ms. Irene M. Boyle, Region 3 - Vice President
iboyle@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mr. John V. Allen, Region 2
jallen@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mrs. Susan Cummings, Region 1
scummings@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mr. Mike Morris, Region 2
mmorris@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mr. Stephen Pirritano, Region 1
spirritano@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mr. Ron Rudy, Region 3
rrudy@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mr. Mark Shubin, Region 3
mshubin@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mr. Anthony Sposato, Region 2
asposato@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mrs. Jennifer Burns, Board Secretary
Mrs. Debby Spadaccino, Assistant Board Secretary
Mrs. Barbara Markowitz, Treasurer
Thomas J. Profy, III, Esquire - Begley, Carlin & Mandio, LLP, Solicitor
These yahoos have the cojones to have a little animated American flag on their contact page.
First Amendment Schools
Offhand, I'd say these aren't enough schools, but there you have it. See http://www.firstamendmentschools.org.
Current Projects
Bronx Preparatory Charter School , Bronx, New York
Butler Middle School , Salt Lake City, Utah
City Academy , Salt Lake City, Utah
Dover Street School , Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Edith Bowen Laboratory School , Logan, Utah
Fairview Elementary School , Modesto, California
Goodyear Middle School , Akron, Ohio
Hudson High School , Hudson, Massachusetts
Kennebunk High School , Kennebunk, Maine
Maplewood Middle School , Maplewood, New Jersey
Monadnock Community Connections School , Keene, New Hampshire
Northport-East Northport Pathway , Northport, New York
Northwest Middle School , Salt Lake City, Utah
Nursery Road Elementary School , Columbia, South Carolina
Price Laboratory School , Cedar Falls, Iowa
Quest High School , Humble, Texas
Red Mesa High School , Teec Nos Pos, Arizona
Past Projects
Federal Hocking High School , Stewart, Ohio
Harmony High School , Bloomington, Indiana
Lanier High School , Jackson, Mississippi