To the Editor:
Fewer than two out of every ten of our town's eligible voters came out to vote at our town's annual budget referendum, and top elected officials ...
To the Editor:
I ask the fundamental question… how much is it worth to protect historic Main Street? Presently, the owner of the Main Street Inn at Newtown has ...
To the Editor:
The recommendations for the Borough's 2018-19 budget that were approved by the burgesses on April 10 include some disturbing items. If they pass,...
To the Editor:
Friends of the C.H. Booth Library held their annual Spring Donation Day event on April 29. Once again, it was a pleasure seeing so many generous ...
Those looking to connect with their deceased loved ones attended psychic medium Patty Griffin's group reading at the Newtown Senior Center on April 27. The "Whi...
To the Editor:
The recent poor voter turnout (17 percent) in the last referendum can no longer be accepted in our democratic system that guarantees the most imp...
To the Editor:
I think we all understand how harmful plastic bags are to the environment, but I am frequently asked why paper bags are harmful. Most of us belie...
Anthony R. Ferrigno, 89, of Newtown, husband of Alice Kohut Ferrigno, died peacefully April 28. Born and raised in Bridgeport, he was the son of the late Rocco ...
To the Editor:
The Medicare Savings Program (MSP) and its income limits are valid only until July 2018.
The governor's proposed budget eliminated funding for th...
And so it begins...again.The Newtown Bee that he and his two-wheeled companions will ride through states working to reduce gun violence - Connecticut, N...
Unfortunately as voter turnout continues to decline the chances of it increasing also decline. The LC and BOF already know that the budget will be approved by virtue of the low turnout so why try to make smart decisions? The so-called referendum is essentially just a rubber stamp. They will continue to increase the budget by 2-5% every year because it's low enough to not cause a pushback under the cover of "inflation" and "maintaining the schools." Sending the budget to vote with 9% turnout is meaningless and a waste of resources on April 23rd.
I have seen Mr. Pisani repeatedly assert in the pages of the Bee that Newtown schools are "testing at a failing 64.9%". I'd be curious if he could elaborate on this statistic, as I have been unable to verify it independently. Which test exactly is our school system failing? How do our schools compare to other towns? How does our score compare to historical measures? It's very hard to draw conclusions from a single data point, so here are a few more data points to think about for context: Newtown is consistently ranked among the top 20 school districts in CT by the US News and World Report and Niche, which consider a range of performance metrics in their rankings; on average, Newtown students perform similar to, if not better than, students in neighboring school districts on standardized math and reading tests; the only data point on the CT Department of Education District Report Card where Newtown "fails" -- that is, falls behind the state average -- is access to art instruction. I'm glad the council member has acknowledged in this letter what taxpayers in high-performing (and high-spending) school districts like Darien, New Canaan, and Westport already know: "School funding does impact student achievement." Please keep that in mind when you vote this week!