Doggone Etiquette —
Winter Retirement
By Bardi McLennan
A Word to the Dog: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
How are you co...
A Time To Reach Out For Help
To the Editor:
We can’t be sure how long media coverage of the Penn State sexual assault allegations will last. Tradit...
Talk On ‘Coping With The Holidays After A Loss’
BRIDGEPORT — A presentation on “Coping with the Holidays After A...
Doggone Etiquette —
Winter Retirement
By Bardi McLennan
A Word to the Dog: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
How are you co...
178-Unit Project—
WSA Reaches Tentative Settlement
On Condo Complex Court Appeal
By Andrew Gorosko
Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) members this wee...
Free Japanese Film Showings Scheduled At NHS
By Eliza Hallabeck
A few weeks ago, Newtown High School junior Eric Song had an idea.
In just a few days his idea ...
Utility Customers Assistance Fund Boosted, Businesses To Testify
HARTFORD (AP) — Northeast Utilities says $10 million for a fund to help residential...
Going To Bat
For Chivalry
To the Editor:
Last Friday night, I went to a show with my wife and some Sandy Hook neighbors in Bridgeport. (These neighbors are the...
Charter’s ‘Movies For Food’ Supports Local Food Banks
The sight of empty shelves at local food pantries is an all-to-often ...
Newtown schools have degraded over the 3+ decades I've lived here as the concentrated social experiment curricula driven by the state and small but loud groups. Yet we continue to dig into our pockets while we witness the downward spiral.
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!