Shelter Island Reporter Editorials

A pitch for the Island
We applaud the Shelter Island School District for making an effort — and following through — to encourage parents who send their children to school off-Island to seriously consider enrolling them in school here.

The district pays for student transportation to schools within 15 miles on the South Fork and there is no argument about that here, even for the $68,000 it will cost to bus students to Our Lady of the Hamptons School in Southampton if a referendum to extend the mileage limit is passed. All property owners pay school taxes.

Transportation costs would be lower if more Island kids stayed here for school. Beyond that, as educators said last week, and at a recent forum of school officials, parents and other residents, children benefit greatly by going to school on the Island.

By staying here, kids can take advantage of special programs only the Shelter Island School can offer, especially those that emphasize the Island’s history and ongoing traditions.

Academic Administrator Jennifer Rylott has been instrumental in making contact with parents and having a dialogue about their concerns and the school’s efforts to address them.

Congratulations to the district for the effort, and we hope it brings success.

What was the point?

Everyone makes mistakes, and at the April 22 State of the Town luncheon, Supervisor Jim Dougherty made a doozy, opening his remarks with a rape “joke.”

You have to wonder what century Mr. Dougherty thought he was in. And exactly where he thought he was, addressing an event sponsored by the Shelter Island League of Women Voters and telling a crude and misogynistic story .

This was a jaw-dropping lack of judgment and taste.

Letter writer Vincent Novak takes the Reporter to task as well for not reporting Mr. Dougherty’s remarks and he’s right to do so. We apologize to our readers. It should have been reported. We missed it and should have noted that the supervisor, in an absurd attempt at levity, told a story about a woman being attacked.

There will be accusations tarring those who were offended with straightjacket political correctness or, heaven help us, lacking a sense of humor. That’s to be expected from certain benighted quarters.

As said, we consider Mr. Dougherty’s remarks a mistake, but one that should be corrected.