NHS Girls Topple Amity In Class LL First Round
By Andy Hutchison
Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team began Class LL state tourn...
Sandy Hook Man Charged In Fatal Crash In Mass.
SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Police say a Sheffield, Mass., woman was killed and two people seriously injured a...
Gardeners Plan For Spring
In Victory Garden
By Kendra Bobowick
Wednesday’s snow did not stop a roomful of gardeners and interested volunteers from ...
Jail Time, Restitution— Â
Ex-Police Officers Plead Guilty In Theft Case
By Andrew Gorosko
DANBURY — The two former Newtown police off...
‘Hammer-In’ Scheduled
At Brookfield Craft Center
BROOKFIELD — Blacksmithing, the ancient art of shaping iron with fire, ham...
Aquarion To Buy United Water In Newtown
By Andrew Gorosko
Aquarion Water Company of Bridgeport intends to buy for approximately $38 million United Water Connect...
‘Embracing Your Oneness:’ CWU Planning Human Rights Celebration
Church Women United of Newtown and Greater Danbury invites the public to...
Concerns Raised At Coffee & Dessert With The Board
By Eliza Hallabeck
With dessert prepared by the Newtown High School’s culinary department and cof...
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!