Office Workers Experience
The Unchanging Nature Of ‘Temporary’
By Steve Bigham
Three years ago, 25 town employees were uprooted from sog...
Newtown’s Marathon Man Keeps Going, And Going, And Going…
By Steve Bigham
Newtown resident Bruce Goulart was back in town Monday after runnin...
Town Posts
$2.5 Million Surplus
By Steve Bigham
Newtown’s recent trend of budget surpluses continued through the past fiscal year, although the left...
‘Reconciliation’
In Waterbury
WATERBURY — Italian American Reconciliation, written by John Patrick Shanley, is the next prod...
Wiggins Sisters At Sweet Harmony’s
MARBLE DALE — Sweet Harmony’s Coffee House will present a concert by The Wiggins Sisters ...
Louise Trompetta
Louise (Curcio) Trompetta, 89, of Stratford, died December 31 in Lord Chamberlain Healthcare. She was the grandmother of Carl J. Trompetta of N...
By Mary Jane Anderson
Stress is a common occurrence in our daily lives.
It is caused when a person or animal is placed into a situation which is unusual or when...
Parks and Recreation Director, Barbara Kasbarian 270-4340. Recreation Supervisor, RoseAnn Reggiano. Assistant Director Parks, Carl Samuelson.
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Ruth Lightfoot
Ruth (Wanless) Lightfoot, 94, of Chester, died December 14 at Essex Meadows Medical Unit in Essex. She was the widow of John Ballantine Lightfoot...
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!