SPEAKER_04 0:01

For seven years, I worked for the Claremont School District. I bare my soul for the Claremont School District. I worked with any kid they asked me to, and now I don't work for the Claremont School District. I love Claremont so much, so much. And now we're in a situation we're wondering if we're going to have school you've got sports teams here in there fighting for themselves because they don't know if they're going to have a season because administration didn't do their jobs what we need to do is we need to stand together we need to say that this is unacceptable and we need to we need to find people who care about Claremont as much as we do to be in charge of this school district. Find people who would stay here and know the challenges that they go through every single day. That's what we need to do. Because you have to have emotional investment in order to care about a place. And I don't work here anymore. I'm happy where I am now. But I still love Claremont. I'm still a coach here. I still care about Claremont. I still want it to succeed. And I just want leadership that cares as much as I do. Please!

SPEAKER_02 1:57

You're listening to New Hampshire Has Issues, and I am your host, Liz Canada, talking to you from the future. Not a ton has changed with what has happened in Claremont since I talked to Matt Mushian. We've recorded this on Thursday, August 28th. One of the things that I really loved about my conversation with Matt is that he is actually in Claremont. He loves his city, he loves his community, and that comes across. I also included a few clips from the school board meetings from members of the public and so that we could all hear their voices and their perspectives as well. The first person you just heard, as he said, is a coach. You're going to hear from a mom. And after the closeout music, there's a dad as well. I was able to access these because Claremont TV has these recordings on their website, which is incredible. Public access television is such a gift for knowing what's going on in our individual communities. I've included all those links in the show notes. If you hear this episode and you want to help, I've also included a link to be able to donate to support Claremont's extracurricular activities so that the students there can continue to play sports this year. If you would like to support this show, you can go to patreon.com slash nhhasissues. Thank you to those who have already become monthly supporters of the show. These topics that I cover, these issues, come up a lot in conversation. People are talking about Claremont, of course, but they're also talking about the cost of childcare, about the cost of housing, about their health insurance costs. All of those conversations I know are happening out there. So send them the episodes. I'm going to pass it back over to me. Thank you for listening. You know that I like to have a little tagline at the beginning of the show. I'm not sure if you've thought about it. I am now. Okay, you think about it. I wrote one down for myself. We'll see how I feel about it. Welcome to New Hampshire Has Issues, the podcast that dares to ask, what does Claremont have to do with me?

SPEAKER_01 4:10

That's a good one. Oh, thank you. That's actually one that everyone should be asking too, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Yeah. I mean, I've seen a lot of folks on the internets. say, well, it's Claremont. Who cares? And I disagree with that sentiment, and I imagine you do as well, but maybe that's the question I'm trying to answer today.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

I think I've got one. All right. Let me know if I need to reel it in a little. No,

SPEAKER_02 4:36

you go in whatever journey.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

All right. Welcome to New Hampshire Trends Issues, the podcast that dares to ask how a district famous for suing the state over school funding still wound up broke.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

It's a great question. Maybe we answer that today. And maybe it's just left for the listener to ponder as we move into the world. Yeah. I am your host, Liz Canada. And joining me today on the podcast with the best background so far, not that I'm judging everyone else's background, but I'm certainly judging my own. Joining me on the podcast today is a former city councillor from Claremont, Matt Mushian.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Yeah, thanks for having me. Feels like a while ago, but I was a city councilor. I loved it.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

How long ago

SPEAKER_01 5:22

was it? My term ended in 2023. All right.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

That is not that long ago. That is only like seven minutes ago, frankly. That was moments ago. Matt, thank you for being here. I really appreciate it. I reached out to you and I was like, I think we need to have an emergency episode of New Hampshire Has Issues about Claremont.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Yeah. Lots going on. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

Yeah. So to start with a simple question, what is happening in Claremont right now? What... What happened?

SPEAKER_05 5:51

Nothing major.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

No, not a joke. What's going on? Because a lot has changed in the last even 24 hours. But what's the deal with Claremont?

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Truly, the story is continuing to develop. But about two weeks ago now, the Claremont School Board announced a $1 to $5 million deficit for the upcoming school year, which raised a lot of questions. How does this happen? Obviously, everyone was very worried. Originally, there were some even very basic questions about school starting in two weeks. What does that mean for schools able to open their door? Of course, everyone's wondering what's going to happen. Since, as you said, there's been a bunch of updates. We've learned a bit more about the situation. The school board has hosted a couple of school board meetings to hear from folks, let folks know about what was going on, and just try and provide some information about how we got here as they themselves are still figuring it out. But in the wake of this information, they have let go about 39 positions. The first wave was 19 new hires who had yet to start their school year at the school. There were new teachers coming into the district. And then a meeting last week, I think, or earlier this week even, there was 20 more positions that were cut from the district also all the extracurriculars like fall sports band theater all that stuff's now probably only going to happen if the community is able to fundraise and the price tag for that was given an estimated price tag for fall sports as an example was five hundred thousand dollars yeah for the community to have to come up with so that kids can go to their games which i think we're recording this thursday august 28th i think the first sports game is tomorrow, Friday. Tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 7:52

I think so. Yeah. So yeah, things aren't great. School did start today though. And I did from friends who have kids that are going back to school, see folks posting online about, you know, amidst all the chaos and confusion, kids going back to school today, seeing their friends, seeing their teachers felt really good for them. And a little bit of normal scene. Hopefully we figure out the situation so that they can do all the stuff they look forward to doing. But yeah, that's where we are right now.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

And I saw the announcement. I think this may have happened yesterday where the school district is able to receive a loan of $4 million. Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Claremont Savings Bank. I don't exactly know the type of loan it is. I know the acronym is like GAN. The district was able to get based on the fact that they will be having guaranteed payments coming from the state. So the district will be getting, I think, It's a $4 million loan from Claremont Savings Bank, which is really huge for just cash flow and being able to keep the schools open and do things like pay the

SPEAKER_02 9:07

bills and make payroll. to the broader community of how this, I don't know, what are we calling it? A financial crisis? A deficit? Whatever one might say.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Huge problem. Huge issue. It's part of the title of the show. Huge issue, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

How it is impacting them. Heard from some educators who were devastated to not know if the school was going to open again. From families who said, we don't know what to do with our children when... school supposed to open?

SPEAKER_03 9:51

I have a child in the school system here. She's going through second grade. If school doesn't open, I'm concerned about what I'm going to do. What does my ability look like to transfer to another school in a neighborhood? What does that transportation look like? Both her father and I have jobs.

SPEAKER_02 10:12

And from students, too, who were like, I'm a student athlete. I play sports. And I'm going to college and playing sports. And what am I supposed to do if you cut all of these programs?

SPEAKER_01 10:24

The uncertainty of literally something as basic as school opening, that's people's jobs, not just who work at the school and are teachers or custodians or whatever, but also parents who need to be able to send their kids to school so they can go to work. Yeah, the students who are... our future doctors and all of those things who are thinking about things like early decision and early application and need guidance counselors to help them navigate that. It's a huge thing. But it is amazing how even with all of that being true, the community can immediately jump into what are we going to do? How can we help mode?

SPEAKER_02 11:02

There was a question of whether or not the schools would remain open for the entirety of the school year. There was some questions about, well, we can open for a month. or we can open for two months, or maybe we can be open until the spring. Where is the school district now? Have they said, okay, now that we have this loan, we're good for the school year? Or is there still a question for the seniors? The seniors are like, am I going to graduate from this school? Is this something I need to be worried about? What's the update on whether or not the schools will stay open for the full school year?

SPEAKER_01 11:38

It's a hard question. I think the yes or no to that has still kind of yet to be given yes

SPEAKER_02 11:45

TBD

SPEAKER_01 11:46

TBD exactly you know obviously that's why we're doing things like what are we what can we cut back we know how is the loan going to help I do think that Claremont Savings Bank kind of coming in with clutch with this loan

SPEAKER_05 12:00

yeah

SPEAKER_01 12:00

will definitely help because that the biggest issue for the district right now is just cash flow they don't honestly have enough money coming in to just pay their bills and for them bills also include things like paying people, which you have to do. So that will help get that going as they also, I think, figure out payment plans and other options to mitigate other things. So unfortunately, as uncomfortable as it is, while that is going to help, it still is yet to, I think, determine whether or not work. Because one thing I keep thinking about is like, yeah, it's August right now, but once winter gets here, we have other fees like heating these places, these massive buildings. What the future looks like I think is still a little uncertain.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

What are you hearing in terms of families making choices of wanting to stay in their school district?

SPEAKER_01 12:53

To get to that question, one thing when you first said that that stuck out to me was the students who are speaking at these meetings who do want to stay in their district. Talking about the teachers who believe in them and who have helped them to get where they are today. The way that our athletics programs or our arts and theater programs have helped them develop the skills to do things like public speak in front of three to five hundred people

SPEAKER_02 13:21

right

SPEAKER_01 13:22

they're going to

SPEAKER_02 13:24

this

SPEAKER_01 13:24

packed

SPEAKER_02 13:25

room yes right

SPEAKER_01 13:27

you hear from those kids like the benefits and the value that they get from going to their schools their public schools and I think too for the families that we see in Claremont like I grew up just 15 minutes over in the next town of Newport. And, you know, our districts are different, but similar in a lot of ways. The funding issue. And I think, you know, both towns have, we have pride in our school districts. We have pride in the fact that we, like in Claremont, are the oldest continuous alumni association in the country, which I think is so cool. What? I know. Little Claremont, New Hampshire. We have a huge alumni parade every year. I actually, like, I gotta be honest with you. I never really quite understood it yet because I didn't graduate from here. So I was always like, yeah, alumni parade, it's a thing we do. But this year was my boyfriend's 10-year reunion. And it was really cool seeing the immense pride in these alumni who were coming together to not just participate in the parade, but reconnect and share their pride in their school and share their old stories. And one thing that was so fun is his reunion they found out that they're like him and his classmates found out that like one of their old fourth grade teachers live next door so they went over and invited her and it's just like yeah like it's something that is so fun and unique to Claremont but also like really speaks to the importance of funding public school your neighborhood school your neighborhood school yeah for me even connecting to it from being in the next town over in Newport we had a lot of challenges I remember summer like I remember school years where they would send letters home to our parents asking to buy like printer paper or stuff like that because we just didn't have enough money as a school but you know I am so proud to be a public school graduate I love being a Newport Tiger I think back to like my teachers and maybe we didn't have the most up to date things but I never really was aware of that and like also still had some really cool opportunities and was able to have you know things that I'll never forget so yeah there's a lot of pride it's your neighborhood school it's also like when you think about these communities they're the backbone of so much I live across the street from a park and one of my favorite things is the softball games that they do over there the way that it becomes packed and you see all the people setting up their like little tents and there's a couple games back to back it can become a whole evening of folks coming down and hanging out and yeah the alumni parade things like that they're just so important

SPEAKER_02 16:14

there was a mom who said having online classes is not going to work for my kid like that does not work for my child so like please stop assuming that we can all just go somewhere else that is not how it works and i really love that you bring up this pride in their schools because every single student that i heard in those meetings was saying like please make sure that our school is here i want to go to school here they were They weren't trying to go somewhere else. They were, I don't want to use the word desperate, but it felt that way of like, open our schools and make sure my sports programs, make sure my classes are there. That pride is so important. And that is what neighborhood schools are all about. This is my community.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

That shouldn't be at the cost of others. And I think about the folks in my life who do need to be able to go to a public school that is fully funded with the resources they need. My brother, he had an IEP and was in special ed all through our schooling. And he had to stay a couple extra years before he could graduate. And now he's been at his job for years. And he is a thriving, wonderful, Yeah. school that's in their town, that they can walk to if they want, that they can be a part of the community when they're not just in the school building. And if we start moving all of our schools away like that, we're going to miss out on that.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

What do you wish people knew about Claremont in general? You know, there's talk about Claremont. There was the school funding case from decades ago when it still sort of looms large in a lot of ways. But I'm assuming a lot of people haven't actually been to Claremont. They may have only heard of it. That's Thank you

SPEAKER_01 18:45

for asking. It's so true that you look us up and you see the school funding stories and stuff like that. Claremont is a really incredible, I'm biased of course, I've chosen to just stay here, but I love it. It's an incredible town. The folks here really, we're going to handle this, we're going to get through this. There was a mom who spoke at the school board meeting the other night and she turned to the audience at one point and held the microphone and she said like we are going to figure this out we're going to be okay we're all going to help be there for each other through this and we're going to get our school through this you know that is so everyone's you know approach to these problems and then also you can come here and hang out with the cool people but also we have incredible recreation there's I've recently gotten into the world of mountain biking still just riding my little gravel rail trail which we have incredible rail trails

SPEAKER_02 19:40

I thought you're sentence was going to go to pickleball because there's so much pickleball out in the world and i was like matt if you're gonna say pickleball i don't know what i'm gonna do but

SPEAKER_01 19:49

mountain biking okay all right they just built four pickleball courts across the street from my house and i kind of can't wait to go though i've never played but i've heard about it

SPEAKER_02 19:57

i've never played either should we go play should we go play pickleball let's

SPEAKER_01 20:02

come to claremont i will trip

SPEAKER_02 20:04

here i will a hundred percent do that so you have trails yeah mountain biking

SPEAKER_01 20:10

we have uh rail trails all through which are you know you could go from here to Newport or out toward Lebanon there's awesome awesome rail trails but also our it's called Arrowhead it's a it's like our tubing mountain in the winter but it has recently become like a mountain biking destination and there's been a couple like mountain biking I should really look them up it's like an enduro enduro something I don't know but there's been some like mountain bike competitions here which has brought a lot of attention to our area for that kind of recreation we also have a ton of parks we've got parks with disc golf frisbee golf courses so like a little bit of everything for anyone great food in Claremont

SPEAKER_02 21:00

yeah

SPEAKER_01 21:01

yeah great food we have really great restaurants one of my favorite Mexican places right here in Claremont Rancho Viejo so good everyone go next time you're here yeah

SPEAKER_02 21:11

I I'm hearing pickleball, biking, and Mexican food. And that's like the perfect trifecta, frankly.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Yes, we've got a lot. And, you know, the other thing that like about this area is why I would love you to stay in Claremont, but there's lots of like other cool history and culture in this area. So once you're here, you can go check out things like St. Gaudens over in Cornish. And there's just lots of cool stuff in this area to check out and explore. And that's like, that's what I love. Like when I have a Like, what little gem should we go check out today that we haven't been to in a while? So, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

So good. Do people talk about the Supreme Court cases in Claremont? Or is that just something we outsiders talk about? Are you all like, please, let's not talk about this anymore? That's a

SPEAKER_01 21:56

good question. It does come up. A lot of folks are aware. Well, I mean, to go back to what I said about, like, if you Google it, it's like, you know, when folks move here and they do look into it, that is oftentimes one of the first things that you see. It's a huge case, yeah. It's a huge case. you'll see folks talking about it in that way. But 100% in the last couple weeks, just in the wake of the budget news coming out, it's been coming up again. It's been a big part of the conversation because for a lot of folks, they immediately see that these issues aren't disconnected. There's a lot of factors that contributed to our particular issue, but it's not separate from the school funding issue. And, you know... As I said, how does a district that's famous for suing the state over school funding end up going broke is actually what people are asking. And I think one thing, though, that is interesting is folks, when they talk about it, it's like acknowledging and it's like, yes, this is a thing. But it's not always like we know what to do about it. And I think the thing to do about it is to tell our elected officials our decision. makers that like we need their help and you know there's been this message coming to claremont right now they're like this is our problem and we have to dig ourself out of this

SPEAKER_02 23:21

right

SPEAKER_01 23:22

i think the commissioner of education even sent a letter to us

SPEAKER_05 23:25

yeah

SPEAKER_01 23:25

where i am paraphrasing but she was like this is a local issue this is your this is your issue but it's not like any town that is you know a bad budget away from having everything heavily rely on property taxes could end up in a similar crisis. So it's not an us problem.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

The through line, I'm trying to figure out how to articulate in not such a wordy way, and I don't know how to do it. So I'm just going to try it. But the Claremont decision from decades ago essentially said, New Hampshire, you have the obligation to fund schools adequately and fairly. That's the premise of those court cases. And the job is by our lawmakers. They're supposed to fix the school funding issue. And this year, the majority of the lawmakers actually put in the state budget that courts don't get to make this decision. We get to make this decision. You can't tell us what to do. And so for the past few decades, they haven't done the thing that the Supreme Court said in Claremont, and then Claremont again, and then other school funding cases that we've seen. The Supreme Court keeps saying, you're not doing this right. You're not doing this fairly for decades. And the legislature, as recently as June of this year, has said, you can't tell us what to do. We're not doing that. And here we are with Claremont going broke. Yes, there are many variables at play. There should have been audits. All sorts of things were happening. But the state lawmakers have literally said very proudly, you can't tell us what to do. We're not changing that. That's not a thing we're going to change. And the way that the state funds schools is through property taxes. That is how these lawmakers are okay with funding the schools. So I don't know if I'm piecing it together, but it's like in my head, I see the thing that is happening and I don't know how to like get it out there.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

One thing I think is so hard is we talk about states underfunding and it sounds so abstract, but like it's just not. What that literally means is like they're sending less money to things like special ed they're sending less money to things like building aid to literally just support these school buildings so that kids can go in them and they're safe and up to code it's less money for things like transportation that like that's literally what that underfunding means and I guess it's the question of like how many places have to go through this before they maybe look in the mirror or something but yeah I do think one thing I'm thankful for is seeing this happen in Claremont is just folks starting to talk to our lawmakers and our state legislators and urging them to fix this issue. And, you know, I don't have the magic answer, but I can tell you one thing. What we are currently doing isn't it. And we could at least start that and see what we can do better. Right.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

I hear people say this is a Claremont issue, but actually that's the problem is that we have And so your question of how many communities have to go through this before it changes, it would be nice if the answer was no more than what's happening right now. But I'm seeing some lawmakers on the social media kind of celebrating what's happening in class. to say, see, we told you so. School districts, you should go somewhere else. And that's not what the students in Claremont are asking for. That's not what the families in Claremont are asking for. And so maybe those same lawmakers who are using this as an example of why they should send public dollars to wealthy families to go to private school, maybe they should maybe listen to the students in Claremont instead.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

I had a thought. It was... crazy to me listening to the students say that and parents say that and you know we're calling folks in right now but then to have someone on the board basically be like well you should look into EFAs that could support you like what if everyone in Claremont just like I guess got an EFA and then donated it back to the school district like is that what they're asking they're not allowed to

SPEAKER_02 28:03

do that we can go back to the education freedom account episode with Christina Pretorius you are not allowed to go to public school and get an education freedom account

SPEAKER_01 28:11

It really is astonishing. It's startling how we can have these conversations about literally a community having to have fundraisers to raise enough money so that kids can play sports this fall, can play their band instruments, so that they can do all the things that we all got to do. And we're having this conversation so seriously, and there are actually people out there like, pointing the blame and trying to turn it into an I told you so moment is baffling. And then also, you know, at the same time, there is the state of New Hampshire telling us that this is a local problem while simultaneously, yeah, like having the unrestricted educational freedom account vouchers. I don't know, from where I'm standing, I can see a couple issues. I can see a couple of points that need to be addressed. And it's It's just wild how a whole community here in Claremont can feel that, can see those same things, can be talking about the connection that they all feel between our school funding problem and the issue we're in now. And we're basically being told, like, it's not real. Like, we're all kind of making it up. And I, like, I don't know if that sounds silly, but it's, like, really, like, think about that, folks. Or

SPEAKER_02 29:31

that, like, you deserve it. You guys did this, and so now you deserve to have your schools closed. And, like, that only hurts the students, the families, the community. Like, At large, it hurts the city overall to have that happen. And what do you do when you just let a school district close or you just let it go? It hurts the people who are there and the community that is there.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

All the outcomes of this are painful. And ultimately, the kids are the ones that have to bear the brunt of that. There's a lot that could be said about all the things. The fact that we were able to have kids go to school today and folks are figuring the situation out I do think is great and it's important for those students but at the end of the day we shouldn't have ever found ourselves in this situation and truly I think unless the state of New Hampshire does figure its stuff out it's only a matter of time before not this exact situation but other things like this continue to happen

SPEAKER_02 30:38

school funding issues are not going away anytime soon and it's only potentially for the rest of the state going to get more and more challenging with higher costs, higher property taxes. It's just going to keep being an issue all over.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

I don't want to focus too much on the board here in Claremont. I feel like some people just want to be like... It's their... I

SPEAKER_02 31:03

do think it's worth saying that when you have a neighborhood school and you have a school district, you have elected officials who are accountable to the public, right? Like that's something that happens because they're in public office. So you can go to school board meetings and talk to them. You can set up meetings with them one on one, I'm sure. And then there are elections and those things happen. So, you know, whatever school district you're in, that is one of the values of having public school systems because they are accountable to the people in their community. Other types of institutions do not have that. Private schools don't have that. Charter schools schools don't have that and those schools are all fine but one of the main values of a neighborhood school is that the people who are representing them are from your actual community you yourself can run to be on the school board you yourself can run to be on the budget committee of the school board to look at the finances to be helpful and spot these things and see them but yeah I don't want to slam any school board member or anything like that because they were elected and so like their job is to be accountable to the public and the public can share their thoughts and that's what's happening right now and so there's no need to point fingers at specific board members

SPEAKER_01 32:21

and I don't think they're giving out like navigating school funding issues for dummies books when you get elected there's no there's none of that

SPEAKER_02 32:30

maybe there should be actually maybe there should be a school funding 101 actually maybe just call school funding fairness project call Zach Sheehan and be like we know a guy we know a guy We know a few guys, actually. There are a few people out there who could maybe do a quick 101 about how this all works. Learning how to look at budgets and things like that, that's a thing to learn and practice. You don't have to just run for school board and go all the way to school. There are committees and subcommittees that you can participate in and help with. I'm on my budget recommendations committee. I've learned a lot about the different line items, how much we have to set aside for or the snow removal every year. It's all those details really matter.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

Yeah, you're so right. My school board is like a way that I can have accountability on the school district, but also, yeah, as a way for me to shape things by who I'm electing to put on there, by going to the meetings, by just talking to these folks. That's a great perspective for folks to try and take on. And they are interested in hearing from you. And they do want to take your feedback and consider into their decisions

SPEAKER_02 33:44

so for some of the episodes I ask like what should folks do and maybe we're answering that as like get involved in your own school board city council select board there are plenty of committees in your community that probably have vacancies in some way where they need volunteers because our entire state is run by volunteers that is literally who run our entire state and all of our communities. It's all run by volunteers.

SPEAKER_01 34:16

It's so true. I mean, I was volunteering my city council and yeah, we pointed so many folks to different boards and commissions who all volunteered their time. And little plug for the day job. But if you are interested in seeking an appointed office, you could check out the Ford Foundation, FordMH.org. We have a whole list. We've tracked like Land use board positions. Oh my God. Yeah. Like arts and council related things, budgetary stuff. And if you're interested in running for office, school board, city council, state rep, state senate, anything, you should look into 603 Forward because we are the place to help you run and get involved in your community. But I do think that is, for me, the takeaway. Like for folks in Claremont listening to this, the takeaway for you.

SPEAKER_02 35:06

Claremont, we do. We love you. And we are here for you, Claremont. We are here for you. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

Thank you. And for the folks from Claremont listening, like show up to the meetings, you know, try your best to know what's going on and be a, as our teachers used to say, a good representative of our community, you know, like remember that we're all in this together. And for folks outside of Claremont, you know, stop on Claremont. I'll bleep myself out, but please

SPEAKER_02 35:32

stop on Claremont. Like I'm so sick of it. I'm sick of people on cities and saying like their schools are X, Y, see like just cut

SPEAKER_01 35:42

cut it out we have everything that you could want yeah right like everything there is no

SPEAKER_02 35:50

well maybe there are some but there are no bigger deal breakers for me than when somebody speaks badly about a school system especially if they're not even from the school system i'm like nope i do not like that nope nope nope you are you get a big red x from me on this one and truly if you're in claremont if you're a listener and you're in claremont if you've been at the school board meetings kudos to you because I know everyone is working hard trying to live their daily life you're a parent you're a grandparent you're a community member you've got a lot of stuff going on so incredible that you're able to be there and if you're someone who has testified or been up by that microphone like that is incredible it is a huge thing to get up in front of an elected board and share your thoughts so good job no matter what where you're coming from when you get up there. And yeah, if you're outside of Claremont, like I am, we all need to cool our jets about judging what's going on in Claremont. And we should be looking in the mirror instead of out the window. What should we be doing in our own communities? And it's getting involved. Forward Foundation, 603 Forward. Go on your town's website and be like, what openings are there? I am sure there are probably some openings for UK and volunteer and serve and help your community out

SPEAKER_01 37:14

and have fun doing

SPEAKER_02 37:16

it yes I love budget recommendations committee I don't care how many people make fun of me for it I like it and love it a lot

SPEAKER_01 37:23

oh like I've recently been dabbling my toe back into some committees and it is really fun also just like you get you get to like if you're a person who wants to know the tea about just anything it's great if you love hot gas

SPEAKER_02 37:36

join your select board or your committees actually yeah That's the way to get the hot gas of what's happening in town. And then anytime you're in town, people are like, hey, aren't you on the budget recommendations committee? What's going on with the library? And I'm like, you're right. And yeah, let's talk about it. Matt, thank you. This was great.

SPEAKER_01 37:55

Thank you. Thank you for having me on. You know, I love getting to talk about all the stuff that Claremont has to offer. But also, like, I do think that what we have going on is such an important thing. for everyone to just hear about and understand because I think the more we talk to folks, you'll understand that there are communities really close to you that are facing similar issues. So yeah, thanks for having me on to get to talk about it.

SPEAKER_02 38:22

Thank you, Matt.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

And you're going to do one with Hope next.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

Yes, at 7 o'clock.

SPEAKER_01 38:27

Hope Damon, coming on pod. Hope, amazing. But when she came to the last school board meeting, if you watched it, my favorite thing was when she was walking up to the mic and you heard people in the audience start going hope and then everyone starts clapping like before she even got to speak and I just love that like I love a that she you know comes and shows up and she's so there for us but I also love that people recognize her as that leader for us totally we're hyped that she was also her name is

SPEAKER_02 38:59

hope so it's like the perfect like combo of all the things that that we're looking for yeah I'm excited to talk with her about it because she's so passionate and knows so much and

SPEAKER_01 39:09

she's awesome the thing about communities being close to you and connected like she's from Croydon they understand they understand and local school issues a whole bunch so yeah of course she can speak to what we're feeling because it's not just us going through it's

SPEAKER_02 39:25

not just Claremont right and it's not just Croydon right this is a this is a bigger thing than any one community for sure

SPEAKER_01 39:35

so

SPEAKER_04 39:43

The benefit we had back then, there wasn't this cesspool of anger and discontent on Facebook and social media. Get your information here. At the end of the day, we can yell and scream at each other all we want. If we don't work together, it ain't gonna matter. We'll still have Claremont. But we'll just hate each other more. For God's sake, people. Come together as a community, not separate. I've been here too freaking long to watch this happen, and I'm going to fight to the death to make sure it doesn't.