A Good Dog Warden
Gets Fired
To the Editor:
I am writing this letter to let the public know that Carolee Mason has been fired from her position of animal contr...
Since taking over the 75-seat restaurant in the summer of 2007, Mr Tambascio and his head chef, R.J. Moody, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, have gradu...
Warrant
After learning that police held a warrant for his arrest, Justin Lahm, 21, of Danbury went to the police station about noon on April 1, and was cha...
FDA Says Avoid Pistachios Amid Salmonella Scare
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Federal food officials are warning people not to eat any food containing pista...
An Exceptional Year For Newtown Middle School Jazz Band
By Eliza Hallabeck
For Newtown Middle School band teacher Mark Mahoney, there are good years and there a...
Grant Should Improve Participation In Clinical Trials
NEW MILFORD — Connecticut Oncology and Hematology, which is the medical oncology physician tea...
Bachmann & Klibonoff To Return For Concert Season Finale
Newtown Friends of Music will close their 31st season with a return engagement of the beloved violinis...
Parks ‘Passports’ Now Available
By Kendra Bobowick
Amy Mangold is handing out passports. “It’s a new program, a ...
Basketball Camp
Future Stars Basketball is accepting enrollment for its spring clinic at the Newtown Youth Academy. The clinic will be held April 13 through 16 ...
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!