The State buckets School Districts into District Reference groups (DRG) as a way of comparing apples to apples (those district that the State compares to Brookfield because of a number of similarities. (Don’t understand why Greenwich is included, but it is). Following is Brookfield School information sourced from the CT State Ed website, data from the School Administration and recent media articles so that one can make informed conclusions. Sample Years: Adjusted for State Aid to Districts 04/05 — Only 4 of 18 districts in our DRG B, Greenwich, Fairfield, Avon and Trumbull residents spent …

To the Editor: More than 50 volunteers came to the Town Hall in Brookfield on Sunday to prepare the landscaping for the new Kids Kingdom. The planning and organizing of the event was done by a group of Master Gardeners. Under their guidance, the volunteers, with a significant amount of help from employees of Park & Rec,  planted more than 30 trees and 50 shrubs, mulched and watered all the plantings and cleaned up the debris. The site is now ready for the ribbon cutting next Sunday. The volunteers were great. Everyone worked hard and did an excellent job. The Town of Brookfield and the Master…

Dear Editor, The Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 1 at 7:30 at the High School is an important one and every citizen in town should be making plans to attend. Three elected boards, the Board of Education, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance, have worked for many months to bring a budget to the Town of Brookfield that is fair, well thought out and financially sound. Several things will be decided, and your vote will count: The date and day of the Referendum: I believe it needs to be as recommended on Tuesday, May 15, not a Saturday when many activities, events and family commitments …

Local politics doesn't always get proper attention given the impact the decisions local Boards and Commissions have on our lives. We pay attention to state and national races, yet decisions that greatly affect our quality of life in Brookfield are made at the local level. The Brookfield Democratic Town Committee (DTC) encourages all residents to take an active role in the town's budgeting process happening right now. This is where important decisions are made about where our priorities as a community lie. How can you do this? There are two key ways. 1. Participate in the Annual Town Meeting …

I always heard the river before I could see it. I'd leave my truck by the old stone wall and cross down through the meadow, swinging my legs through knee-high hay and keeping a steady pace as I worked to hear what the river was promising. The Housatonic River is a tail-water, fed from a dam 10 miles upstream. The power company raises and lowers the river’s flow depending on power needs and the flow into the river from rain and run-off. If I heard the river early, say at the first break between the meadow and the corn field next to it, I could know the water was fast and high. I’d recheck to …

Dear Editor,  A year and a half ago “suicide” was just a word to me.  That was before my brother took his own life. Now that word has inspired action, inspired me to make suicide prevention my life’s mission. Sadly, as the 10th leading cause of death, suicide continues to take an enormous toll on families, friends and entire communities.   That is why on Thursday, February 9,I will be traveling to our nation’s capital to meet with my members of Congress and urge their support of legislation furthering suicide prevention, education and research. My involvement is part of a national movement …

Our "once in a lifetime trip" to last year's ESPN/Walt Disney Worlds Wide World of Sports in Orlando, FL became "twice in a lifetime" as our Midget Boys from Brookfield made the trip again to the 55th Annual Pop Warner Superbowl this year and came away the 2011 National Champions after a semifinal appearance last year as Jr. Midgets.  I would like to take this opportunity to Thank All of You for your tremendous support of these boys. Our road to the National Championship included victories over Pomperaug for the WCPW Championship, Stratford for the State Championship, Everett, MA and Mt. …

A message to our residents: Update on the Still River Greenway It’s been 11 long years of working on the Still River Greenway and we are happy to report that we have actually completed phase I. Phase I is roughly a quarter-mile in length, and we remain focused on phase II of the plan that will include approximately two more miles of paved multiuse trail. This phase II represents the “lion’s share” of the project that is currently in the final design phase and will follow along the Still River corridor leading north to what will become our pedestrian-friendly Village District. Feel free to …

The finding last week of zebra mussels downstream in Lake Housatonic (located in Derby, Monroe, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton) introduces a whole new level of concern about a regional contagion if steps are not planned and taken now at all levels to stop their advance well prior to next year’s boating season. Below are excerpts of a note just sent to state, regional and local authorities highlighting the risks if serious, aggressive, and failsafe preventive measures are not mounted soon. --- My take on the just-announced sightings in Lake Housatonic: we are witnessing a relentless and unimpeded…

First Selectman Bill Davidson of Brookfield wants to buy more land for open space — 22 acres on South Obtuse Road. Brookfield currently owns 781 acres of open space, which is 6 percent of the 13,040 acres of Brookfield.  When you add the 348 acres owned by the Brookfield Open Space Land Trust, the total jumps to 1,129 acres not available for private ownership. One of the founding principles of our country is the right to personal property. That includes the land of this great country. This purchase would take another 22 acres off the tax rolls and increase the taxpayer’s burden of taxes …

Dear Parents and Guardians: Brookfield High School will be conducting parent-teacher conferences on Tuesday, November 29; Wednesday, November 30; Thursday, December 1; and Friday, December 2. In the past, the high school and middle school have switched schedules to facilitate conferences at Whisconier Middle School (WMS). With our new bus schedule however, this switching is no longer necessary and we will not be doing so this year. Evening conferences will be conducted on Thursday, December 1, between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Afternoon conferences will be held on November 29, November 30, and …

First of all, I would like to thank Bill Davidson for allowing me to use the Town Hall parking lot. I know you have been busy with trying to get power back to the residents of this town! Secondly, I would like to thank all my trunk people. Without you this event would have never gone on! I know some of you were without power, like myself and some of you had just gotten power but stopped what you were doing and came to the rescue of the children of Brookfield! I would also like to thank the residents of the town who came by with candy donations. Some were parents with kids and some were just …

Some people have been talking trash about our town. We beg to differ. Brookfield is a wonderful place to live, work, shop and play. Our community has it all. The convenience of great shopping coupled with the charm of a classic New England town. An endless array of amenities, excellent schools and the lowest taxes compared to our neighbors. A huge variety of activities, from sports to arts to academics to community service. An active and involved senior community. In summer, we swim and boat on Candlewood Lake. In winter, we skate and sled on our ponds and hillsides. It is the quintessential …

As I put pen to paper this season (as I do each season) to let our residents know what’s currently happening with respect to their Parks & Recreation Department… I’m just a bit torn.  We are now just days away from the demolition of the original Kid’s Kingdom play area. This impressive community project began over 25 years ago. I have been fortunate to have created relationships with dozens of folks who were intimately involved with the construction of this project including volunteers, team leaders, project leaders, and those who lead the effort from day one. Those that put aside their lives…

The Brookfield Health Department encourages residents to check on neighbors and/or family members who are elderly or with disabilities, to determine their special needs in the wake of Hurricane Irene’s aftermath. Please report those needs directly to the health department at 203-775-7315. The department also seeks the assistance of all Brookfield residents in reporting any issues with septic systems or issues with food service establishments, which may have arisen as the result of loss of power and hence refrigeration, during this latest storm. Power outages are slowly being corrected. We are…

Programming, hiking, and making friends: where does all this happen? Summer camp, of course. Over the past two weeks, I have been going to camps. One with Robotics and the other called Silver Lake. At both camps, everybody was friendly and played nice. I recommend these camps to any one who has a fever for a good time.  At silver lake camp, I had a great time. This camp promotes Christianity and my first night there my group was doing worship. I had the role of doing prayers of the people. My partner Jimmy and I prayed about what most people would ask to pray for. After this, I had a …

To the Editor: I have often heard people say that we celebrate diversity and value excellence. As a math teacher in Brookfield and in Ossining, NY high schools, I saw many people act in support of those values. In Brookfield, Doctor Robert Wollkind was a unique example of both.  Doc was different in that he practiced excellence and worked tirelessly to help his students toward that goal. I remember his black boards (green boards) were always spotless at the beginning of each class. The diagrams he put there during his lessons looked as precise, if not more so, than the ones in the textbook. …

Dear Editor: I have been following the Doc Wollkind story and am ashamed to see it ending with what is essentially a forced retirement. As a 1989 BHS graduate I was proud to see my former classmate, Mimi Duff, speak on his behalf at the BOE meetings and at the arbitration hearings. I was equally sad to see another former classmate, current BHS principal Bryan Luizzi, asking for Doc's termination. Doc's unique teaching style and brilliant math mind should be celebrated. Focusing on the negative aspects of Doc as a person and as an educator shows that the minority of people siding with Doc's …

To the editor: Having taught math at Brookfield High School for 36 years, I watched many teachers come and go. Without question, Dr. Bob Wollkind is, by far, the best math teacher Brookfield ever had. His students were always the best prepared for the next year's math class, regardless of the level of the student. And his Advanced Placement students always scored well on the college-level placement exams... and they would be the first to tell you how much better prepared they were than their peers from other high schools. He was one of those rare teachers whose positive impact continued well …

I am absolutely outraged at the Brookfield Board of Education that any one of you would ever let this case against Doc go so far as to even consider for one moment terminating his position. [Editors Note: the Board of Ed has taken no action with regard to the case against Doc Wollkind.] He is hands down the ONLY brilliant, genius, teacher who actually teaches in Brookfield, and you all should be privileged that he works for you. Doc is the best teacher I have ever had. He takes the time to teach understanding of the topics at hand, not just regurgitation of the text book. I didn’t learn math …