The katydids are a constant reminder each night that fall is indeed here and frost at night is not too far away. I always thought when I was young that the katy...
AIDS Benefit Needs Help
DANBURY — The interfaith AIDS Ministry of Greater Danbury is still seeking donations of antiques and collectibles, as well a...
Bats To Visit The Kellogg Environmental Center
DERBY — The Kellogg Environmental Center and Naugatuck Valley Audubon Society will host a program on ...
Hazel M. Wutsch
Hazel (Manville) Wutsch, a former Newtown resident, of Fort Myers, Fla., died September 11.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward Wut...
The First Responder
To the Editor:
I’m running. I’m running from the horror, chaos, smoke and fire behind me. I see death. I see it on t...
Blakeman Construction, LLC, of Shelton to Eric Goldstein and Roberta Russo Goldstein of Newtown, property at 35 Marlin Road, $550,900; Bruce Bomely of Newtown t...
Anne S.
Robertson
Anne E. (Shiell) Robertson, 84, wife of the late Robert Robertson of Diamond Drive, Newtown, died in Danbury Hospital September 27.
She is su...
Beating The Odds When Starting
A Small Business
BRIDGEPORT — SCORE Greater Bridgeport is presenting a free seminar, “Beating the Odds Wh...
CFE Honors Towns For Helping Save The Kelda Lands
Special environmental protection awards were presented to Newtown and 14 other Fairfield County towns for lead...
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!