Stevenson High's student newspaper delayed again

The Stevenson High School student newspaper won't come out on time this Friday, marking the second time in three months an issue has been delayed.

The November issue was released a few days late because of administrative concerns about content. This time, the departure of more than half the Statesman staff has left the publication without enough articles to fill an issue, school spokesman Jim Conrey said.

A new release date has not been scheduled.

Nine students - including several top editors - have quit the Statesman this month by withdrawing from the journalism class responsible for its production. The departures leave four students in the class.

The resignations followed months of very public disputes between the students and administrators over censorship and related issues.

Students from other journalism classes will be brought aboard to produce content for the Statesman, Conrey said.

The award-winning Statesman has been mired in controversy for more than a year.

A January 2009 story about teen sex led to more administration oversight because of what officials said were reporting problems. A few months later, teacher Barbara Thill left her post as the newspaper's adviser.

This past November, publication of that month's issue was blocked by administrators because of content objections. School officials later forced students to publish the issue without two stories that had raised concerns.

The following month, a story was pulled from the December issue of the Statesman because it included private medical information about students identified in the piece.

School board President Bruce Lubin later announced plans to create specific procedures and guidelines for the young journalists.