29 April, 2024
3 mins read

New Britain ROOTS Celebrates Growth At Annual “Garden Crawl”

by John McNamara New Britain ROOTS, the city’s urban agriculture and education program that started in 2013, shared its growth in schools and in the community at a well attended 4th annual Garden Crawl and Luncheon held at South Church on October 1st. A bus full of attendees visited Roosevelt School on the east side […]

3 mins read

NAACP and Black Democrats Host Education Town Hall

The NAACP New Britain Branch and the Black Democratic Club of New Britain opened the 2019 Black History Month with a Town Hall Meeting on education in New Britain. About seventy people attended the event, led by Michele Stewart Copes and a panel that included NAACP Education Chair Gerri Brown Springer, schools Superintendent Nancy Sarra, […]

2 mins read

Reported Stewart Veto Reverts Budget to Higher Taxes and Lower School Funding

Republican Mayor Erin Stewart has reportedly vetoed the city budget approved by the Democrats on the City Council that would have lowered her proposed tax increase and increased school funding. Under the City Charter rules, Stewart’s veto means that her original proposed budget takes affect as the official city budget instead of the budget approved […]

2 mins read

Community Activists Organizing for City Budget Hearing

Community activists are organizing city residents to turn out and make their views known at today’s hearing on Republican Mayor Erin Stewart’s proposed budget. Stewart’s proposal has been criticized for increasing property taxes despite her claim of “no tax increase”, as well as for freezing the city’s annual education allocation and continuing to rely on increased city […]

1 min read

City Council and Board of Education to Hold Joint Budget Meeting Mar 22nd

The New Britain City Council and New Britain Board of Education will hold a joint meeting regarding the Board of Education’s requested budget. The meeting will be held on March 22, 2018, at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers in City Hall, on the second floor. A press release from the Council President Pro-Tempore, Ald. Eva […]

16 mins read

Top 10 of 2017: #3 – Budget Woes Grow With Debt, a Downgrade and Frozen Education Support

Many important stories have been covered by the New Britain Progressive in 2017. It may be difficult to name only a few articles as the top stories of the year, but there are a few the New Britain Progressive would like to share as our Top Ten.  Other Top Ten stories can be found at […]

5 mins read

Services Announced for Students and Others Coming From Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands After Hurricane Disasters

New Britain has close family and community ties with Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and other places hit by hurricanes and other recent natural disasters. In the aftermath of the hurricanes and then the failure of the Trump Administration to provide needed aid, New Britain residents have been sending aid to Puerto Rico and Virgin […]

6 mins read

State to Provide $1 Million to NBHS Under Commissioner’s Network Program

The Consolidated School District of New Britain has announced that the State Board of Education has approved New Britain High School as the state’s newest “Commissioner’s Network School”, bringing with it $1 million in additional funding for NBHS during the next three years. NBHS was initially selected as a possible Commissioner’s Network school on October […]

2 mins read

Ward 2 Candidates Discuss Serving New Britain’s East Side

Democrats Lamar Bowsky and Brian Keith Albert are discussing improvements to the city economy and community services for the people of New Britain’s East Side in their challenge to first-term incumbent Republicans Jerrell Hargraves (R-2) and Kristian Rosado (R-2) in the City Council elections in Ward 2. New Britain’s Ward 2 elects two members of the […]

1 min read

Candidate Debate on Education Issues Oct 5th

The New Britain Federation of Teachers, in collaboration with other city organizations, including the Opportunities Industrialization Center and the NAACP New Britain Branch, are hosting a candidate debate on education issues in the city. The debate will feature Democrat Merrill Gay and Republican Erin Stewart, candidates for Mayor, and candidates for Board of Education. The […]

2 mins read

Proposed 23% Mayoral Pay Increase Re-Emerges As Issue in Debate on School System Salaries

The proposal promoted by Republican Mayor Erin Stewart to increase the mayor’s salary by 23% was thrust again into attention by the recent controversy among city Republicans about the salary levels of three school system staff members. In a recent article and editorial in the New Britain City Journal, Republican elected officials allied with Stewart […]

3 mins read

Children’s Programs at the New Britain Library

By Geoffrey Elterich Staff Writer The Children’s Department of the New Britain Public Library remains one of the best places for children’s activities in the city. At the library’s Main Branch on High Street, the Children’s Department offers a large assortment of books, a variety of fun, educational events, and a quiet place for children and […]