Checkpoint Steps On Motorists’ Rights
To the Editor,
On June 9, 700 motorists were stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Newtown. Only one of those m...
Sam Vernuccio
Sam Vernuccio, 78, of Bridgeport, died on July 2 in Lord Chamberlain Health Care, Stratford.
 Born in Bridgeport on June 28, 1922, he was the son...
Peter J. Darbisi, Sr
Peter “Gabby,” “Curly” J. Darbisi, Sr, 81, of Bridgeport died suddenly on July 2 at Bridgep...
The Babe Ruth 15-Year-Old All Stars will be hosting the District 4 Tournament starting Saturday with three games at Walnut Tree Field and one game at Newtown Hi...
Family Counseling Center Holds Annual Meeting
The Family Counseling Center held its annual meeting on June 26 and elected officers and directors for 2000-2001. ...
Dressing Up The Summer White Wines List
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. The White Wine Big Three can be found in every wine shop and on most resta...
Clara M. Rippstein
Clara M. Rippstein, 85, of Whiting, N.J., died July 1 at Logan Manor in Whiting, N.J.
She was the mother of Paulette Jurewicz of Newtown.
Bor...
By Darlene Jackson
The 2000 Bertram Stroock Memorial Tennis Tournament, sponsored by the Newtown Tennis Association, is up and running for the 26th year accordi...
Suburban Gardener—
Basil & The Backyard Herbalist
By Gerry McCabe
Ahhh, the scent of summer! Sweet basil leaves crumpled over freshly cut, juicy gar...
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!