Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.
—Sydney J. Harris
A citizen o...
Football Team Blanks Brookfield, Prepares For Bethel
Newtown High School’s football team blanked host Brookfield 41-0 on October 28 to improve to 6-...
NBLA Hunter Pace Rescheduled For Sunday, November 6
The Newtown Bridle Lands Association’s 33rd Annual Frost on the Pumpkin Hunter Pace, originally...
No Power?
Grab A Book And A Flashlight
By Nancy K. Crevier
If there was one positive aspect to the unexpected snowstorm and power outage, said C.H. Booth Libra...
The Currency For Success
To the Editor:
As a town resident and a candidate for the Board of Finance, I would like to share some observations relative to the dif...
According to Newtown Middle School art teacher Claudia Mitchell, once school resumes ballots for the contest will be counted and the winners will be announced a...
National Emergency Alert System Test Planned
By Andrew Gorosko
To thoroughly test the national Emergency Alert System (EAS), federal officials will conduct a fu...
Children’s Programs
*Instrument Petting Zoo: Children ages 3 and up can explore the violin and cello in this hands-on demonstration with music educa...
Halloween Fun At The Senior Center
By Nancy K. Crevier
Tri-colored hair, over the top makeup, and brightly colored outfits scared away the gloom of the day as m...
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!