Inaugural Turkey Trot Helps Runners Work Up Thanksgiving Appetite
By Andy Hutchison
The inaugural Turkey Trot, a 5K (3.1-mile) run, along with a 1.36-mile walk...
Miklaszewski Named Lion Of The Year
Ed Miklaszewski has been named Lion of the Year by Newtown Lions Club President Walt Schweikert.
Mr Miklaszewski has been a...
‘Unity In Diversity’ Programs Preview
Unity In Diversity, a cable television program that provides an education in learning about on...
Alice In Chinese Wonderland
To the Editor:
I salute the spirit of Nicholas Perna of Danbury, who had the courage (and frustration) of trying to make it through ...
Riverside Road,
Sandy Hook
Timothy DeJulio purchased a home at 65 Riverside Road from Jennifer Sposta.
Debra Trillhaase of Prudential Connecticut Rea...
Police Announce Traffic Controls
 For Tree Lighting
The town will conduct its annual Christmas tree lighting event at the Ram Pasture, near Hawley Pond, on the...
All I know to do is to light the candle that has been given to me.
—Fred Rogers
Darkness can not drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate ca...
Charles G. Perry
Devoted Father And Family Man
Charles G. “Gordy” Perry, 75, died at his home, November 24. He was born in Bridgepo...
 Softball Winter Training
Newtown Softball is conducting a series of Winter Training Clinics at the Newtown Youth Academy. The clinics are open to all Newtown...
The dispatchers at the emergency communications center at Town Hall South report the following fire calls and the responders:
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Thursday, November 25:...
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!