On Oct. 4, two days after distribution of some copies of The Pirate Press student newspaper was stopped, a television reporter wrote an e-mail seeking comment from two Boonville R-1 School District administrators.

“I am a reporter from KOMU and am working on the Pirate Press print delay story,” wrote the reporter, who identified herself as Elizabeth Billingsley. The e-mail was sent to Superintendent Mark Ficken and Principal Jay Webster of Boonville High School. “I would like to speak with either of you for your comments on the story. Please call me at your earliest convenience.”

It’s one of the few e-mails released under a Missouri Sunshine Law request by the BDN that appears to relate to The Pirate Press. It’s also one of the few e-mails that includes comments identified as being from the superintendent.

Among findings presented Tuesday:

• School officials have said little to clarify apparent discrepancies surrounding distribution of The Pirate Press. Nor have they held any news conferences or issued any news releases about it.
• Numerous questions remained unanswered as of Tuesday morning. Among the questions: Why is there no written protocol to describe the process by which the student paper is edited and approved before printing? And what steps have administrators taken to improve students understanding of the editing process?
• Read the Oct. 2 issue of The Pirate Press in full in Friday's BDN. The BDN is to reprint the eight page proofs provided under the Missouri Sunshine Law that contain the content of the Oct. 2 issue of The Pirate Press along with the comments written about the content.