by Victoria Howell, Editor
If a week goes by without a comment about the paper, I think that’s a good thing. I think it means that readers are generally satisfied with the content. However, when readers feel strongly enough to call the office, come into the office, or post comments on social media in frustration, I listen.
Last week I ran a cartoon that did not reflect well on Stevensville schools. I want to say that I am deeply sorry that I let that cartoon get by. It won’t happen again. Coming off a year like the one we just had, it was a low blow.
Although nasty letters are pretty common in the Star, nasty cartoons are not. These satirical cartoons were a new addition, meant to get people to perhaps think about their community in a way they hadn’t thought of before. For example, in thinking about last week’s cartoon, I can see that there’s some validity in considering that you can fix up the physical aspect of the school, but if you don’t work on what happens inside the school, you haven’t really addressed the whole picture. No doubt there are good people, like our Stevensville teachers, who might agree. Starting pay for Montana teachers is some of the lowest in the nation. The latest data from the National Center of Education Statistics shows that the average salary for Montana teachers in their first two years was $35,940 in 2017, or nearly $8,000 lower than the national average. A 2019 survey conducted by Montana State University indicated the median salary for teachers in their first three years was below $34,000 (from Montana Free Press).
Nevertheless, nearly every cartoon has been offensive to at least some people, almost like picking a scab off a wound that has a better chance of healing if you leave it alone.
I’m going to fall back on the old adage that if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all. I can’t see that these cartoons are serving any good purpose, at least not at this time.
I don’t know if there’s any hope for the letters, either, but I will continue to follow our long-time policy, with very few exceptions, of running all letters.
I think that’s where we’ll leave it for now.