Sean Rose

After duPont Manual High School teacher Carrie Shafer was found partially undressed in a car with a 17-year-old boy in March, high school journalist Charley Nold set out to tell the story.

But Charley, 16, a staff writer for the school's online publication, the Manual RedEye, couldn't get his story past principal Larry Wooldridge.

Wooldridge rejected Charley's initial one-paragraph story announcing Shafer's arrest and subsequent resignation, instead scribbling out his own statement to be posted online, saying only that Shafer had quit and the school was seeking a replacement.

Charley, joined by classmate Julian Wright, then wrote a follow-up story that focused on student reaction to the incident, along with examples of alleged misconduct by teachers with students elsewhere in Kentucky, and warning signs for students about being exploited. Wooldridge rejected that story as well.

To date, the only things published by the RedEye on the departure of the popular science teacher are two statements by the principal, neither of which addresses Shafer's arrest on a misdemeanor charge of unlawful transaction with a minor. Neither police nor school district officials have confirmed whether the boy found with Shafer was a Manual student.

According to the RedEye's still unpublished story, the goal of school officials was to “ensure that this situation stayed within the school's walls.” Charley and other Manual students are concerned that Wooldridge is censoring their work to protect the school's reputation from an already widely reported scandal.

“As a principal he does a good job, but when it comes to matters of the student press I think he doesn't understand that we're not just part of the school,” Charley said. “We are a legitimate news organization.”

According to the Jefferson County Public Schools' code of conduct and student bill of rights, school publications “will be free from censorship or prior restraint.” But it also says school officials may establish guidelines that include restricting libelous or obscene material.

 LINK TO PHOTO OF TEACHER:

Carrie Shafer