William H. Biesel
William H. Biesel, 88, of Coudersport, Penn., formerly of Newtown, died June 25 in the Sweden Valley Manor, Coudersport.
Born March 2, 1917, i...
Fire Marshal Warns Of Fireworks Hazards
By Andrew Gorosko
To prevent incidents such as the near-tragedy involving fireworks that occurred last July 4 in the Riv...
The Savings Bank Of Danbury Foundation To Award Grants To Nonprofits
DANBURY — The Savings Bank of Danbury Foundation, established in 2004, provides...
TINA: Sweet gray/white female spayed cat, about two years old, very friendly and affectionate.
SMOKEE: Beautiful charcoal gray female spayed cat, about ...
Antiques Shows______
Saturdays (through mid-Dec): 38th Season Woodbury’s Famous Antiques & Flea Market, 787 Main St South (Rte 6, near Rte 64),...
Devon Anne LeMoine
William and Cheryl LeMoine of Roxbury announce the birth of their daughter, Devon Anne LeMoine, at Danbury Hospital on May 13.
Gary Well...
Pickin’ N Fiddlin’ Returnin’
ROXBURY — Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department will sponsor its 31st Annual Pickinâ&#x...
2nd Annual Connecticut Historic Gardens Celebration Will Be July 10
Nine of the state’s most beautiful and unique sites have joined to form Connect...
Follow Pool Rules For Safety
MIDDLETOWN — Jumping into a pool of cool water offers great relief on a hot summer day. A refreshing pool, however, can...
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!