Freezing Rain Causes Rash of Crashes
By Andrew Gorosko
Slippery road conditions caused by freezing rain Wednesday morning resulted in about ten motor vehicle ac...
Unitarians’ Shoebox Project Helps Children In Emergency Foster Care
Children from abusive homes in the Danbury area who suddenly find themselves in ...
Walter B. Chovau, Jr
Walter B. “Skip” Chovau, Jr, 56, died March 2 from injuries sustained from a fall at his home in Bethlehem.
Mr Ch...
Walter B. Chovau, Jr
Walter B. “Skip” Chovau, Jr, 56, died March 2 from injuries sustained from a fall at his home in Bethlehem.
Mr Ch...
Assessor Clarifies Veterans Exemptions
In response to several inquiries by Newtown veterans, Assessor Denise Hames explained Wednesday that during a revaluation...
Shabbat Across America
On Friday night, March 7, hundreds of synagogues in the United States will come together to eat, drink, relax, enjoy, debate, and celebra...
Police Commission Urges Traffic Signal For Proposed Office Building
By Andrew Gorosko
The Police Commission, acting as the local traffic authority, is recommend...
Blood Drive March 10
At Trinity
Low blood donor turnout during the recent snowstorms has seriously depleted the supply available to hospital patients in Connect...
By Kim J. Harmon
The 2002-03 season marked the beginning of a new era for the Newtown High School girls’ basketball program.
But losing four starter...
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!