September 9, 2025 • 40 mins
Liz talks with Matt Mooshian, a former City Councilor from Claremont, about what is happening with the school district, which faces a multi-million dollar deficit in its school budget.
This episode was recorded on August 28, 2025.
New episodes every Tuesday.
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Have an idea for an upcoming episode? Email Liz: newhampshirehasissues@gmail.com
Links:
- Support Claremont students (Stevens High School Alumni Association)
- The Forward Foundation
- 603 Forward
- Claremont alumni, students team up to raise money amid multimillion-dollar district deficit (WMUR)
- Fate of Claremont school year still is in limbo as officials await financial data (Valley News)
- Claremont school board meeting turns heated as district makes budget cuts in face of deficit (WMUR)
- Claremont schools terminate 19 new hires amid budget crisis (Valley News)
- 8/25/25 School Board Meeting (CCTV)
- 8/20/25 School Board Meeting (CCTV)
- 8/14/25 School Board Meeting (CCTV)
- NH Supreme Court: State falls far short on school funding, but leaves fix to Legislature (NHPR)
- Education Freedom Account Data Shows Wealthy Parents Flock to Free Money (InDepthNH)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (00:01):
For seven years, I worked for the Claremont School
District.
I bare my soul for the ClaremontSchool District.
I worked with any kid they askedme to, and now I don't work for
the Claremont School District.
I love Claremont so much, somuch.
(00:28):
And now we're in a situationwe're wondering if we're going
to have school you've got sportsteams here in there fighting for
themselves because they don'tknow if they're going to have a
season because administrationdidn't do their jobs what we
(00:48):
need to do is we need to standtogether we need to say that
this is unacceptable and we needto we need to find people who
care about Claremont as much aswe do to be in charge of this
school district.
Find people who would stay hereand know the challenges that
(01:13):
they go through every singleday.
That's what we need to do.
Because you have to haveemotional 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.
(01:35):
I still want it to succeed.
And I just want leadership thatcares as much as I do.
Please!
SPEAKER_02 (01:57):
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 whathas happened in Claremont since
I talked to Matt Mushian.
We've recorded this on Thursday,August 28th.
One of the things that I reallyloved about my conversation with
Matt is that he is actually inClaremont.
(02:17):
He loves his city, he loves hiscommunity, and that comes
across.
I also included a few clips fromthe school board meetings from
members of the public and sothat we could all hear their
voices and their perspectives aswell.
The first person you just heard,as he said, is a coach.
You're going to hear from a mom.
(02:39):
And after the closeout music,there's a dad as well.
I was able to access thesebecause Claremont TV has these
recordings on their website,which is incredible.
Public access television is sucha gift for knowing what's going
on in our individualcommunities.
I've included all those links inthe show notes.
(03:00):
If you hear this episode and youwant to help, I've also included
a link to be able to donate tosupport Claremont's
extracurricular activities sothat the students there can
continue to play sports thisyear.
If you would like to supportthis show, you can go to
patreon.com slash nhhasissues.
Thank you to those who havealready become monthly
(03:22):
supporters of the show.
These topics that I cover, theseissues, come up a lot in
conversation.
People are talking aboutClaremont, of course, but
they're also talking about thecost of childcare, about the
cost of housing, about theirhealth insurance costs.
All of those conversations Iknow are happening out there.
(03:44):
So send them the episodes.
I'm going to pass it back overto me.
Thank you for listening.
You know that I like to have alittle tagline at the beginning
of the show.
I'm not sure if you've thoughtabout 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 HasIssues, the podcast that dares
(04:06):
to ask, what does Claremont haveto do with me?
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
That's a good one.
Oh, thank you.
That's actually one thateveryone should be asking too,
honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (04:16):
Yeah.
I mean, I've seen a lot of folkson the internets.
say, well, it's Claremont.
Who cares?
And I disagree with thatsentiment, and I imagine you do
as well, but maybe that's thequestion I'm trying to answer
today.
SPEAKER_01 (04:31):
I think I've got one.
All right.
Let me know if I need to reel itin a little.
No,
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
you go in whatever journey.
SPEAKER_01 (04:38):
All right.
Welcome to New Hampshire TrendsIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask how a district famous forsuing the state over school
funding still wound up broke.
SPEAKER_02 (04:49):
It's a great question.
Maybe we answer that today.
And maybe it's just left for thelistener to ponder as we move
into the world.
Yeah.
I am your host, Liz Canada.
And joining me today on thepodcast with the best background
so far, not that I'm judgingeveryone else's background, but
I'm certainly judging my own.
(05:10):
Joining me on the podcast todayis a former city councillor from
Claremont, Matt Mushian.
SPEAKER_01 (05:16):
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Feels like a while ago, but Iwas a city councilor.
I loved it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:21):
How long ago
SPEAKER_01 (05:22):
was it?
My term ended in 2023.
All right.
SPEAKER_02 (05:26):
That is not that long ago.
That is only like seven minutesago, frankly.
That was moments ago.
Matt, thank you for being here.
I really appreciate it.
I reached out to you and I waslike, I think we need to have an
emergency episode of NewHampshire Has Issues about
Claremont.
SPEAKER_01 (05:42):
Yeah.
Lots going on.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (05:43):
Yeah.
So to start with a simplequestion, what is happening in
Claremont right now?
What...
What happened?
SPEAKER_05 (05:51):
Nothing major.
SPEAKER_02 (05:54):
No, not a joke.
What's going on?
Because a lot has changed in thelast even 24 hours.
But what's the deal withClaremont?
SPEAKER_01 (06:02):
Truly, the story is continuing to develop.
But about two weeks ago now, theClaremont School Board announced
a$1 to$5 million deficit for theupcoming school year, which
raised a lot of questions.
How does this happen?
Obviously, everyone was veryworried.
(06:23):
Originally, there were some evenvery basic questions about
school starting in two weeks.
What does that mean for schoolsable to open their door?
Of course, everyone's wonderingwhat's going to happen.
Since, as you said, there's beena bunch of updates.
We've learned a bit more aboutthe situation.
The school board has hosted acouple of school board meetings
(06:44):
to hear from folks, let folksknow about what was going on,
and just try and provide someinformation about how we got
here as they themselves arestill figuring it out.
But in the wake of thisinformation, they have let go
about 39 positions.
The first wave was 19 new hireswho had yet to start their
(07:11):
school year at the school.
There were new teachers cominginto the district.
And then a meeting last week, Ithink, or earlier this week
even, there was 20 morepositions that were cut from the
district also all theextracurriculars like fall
sports band theater all thatstuff's now probably only going
to happen if the community isable to fundraise and the price
(07:34):
tag for that was given anestimated price tag for fall
sports as an example was fivehundred thousand dollars yeah
for the community to have tocome up with so that kids can go
to their games which i thinkwe're recording this thursday
august 28th i think the firstsports game is tomorrow, Friday.
Tomorrow.
SPEAKER_02 (07:52):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (07:52):
I think so.
Yeah.
So yeah, things aren't great.
School did start today though.
And I did from friends who havekids that are going back to
school, see folks posting onlineabout, you know, amidst all the
chaos and confusion, kids goingback to school today, seeing
their friends, seeing theirteachers felt really good for
them.
(08:13):
And a little bit of normalscene.
Hopefully we figure out thesituation so that they can do
all the stuff they look forwardto doing.
But yeah, that's where we areright now.
SPEAKER_02 (08:22):
And I saw the announcement.
I think this may have happenedyesterday where the school
district is able to receive aloan of$4 million.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (08:33):
Claremont Savings Bank.
I don't exactly know the type ofloan it is.
I know the acronym is like GAN.
The district was able to getbased on the fact that they will
be having guaranteed paymentscoming 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
(08:55):
cash flow and being able to keepthe schools open and do things
like pay the
SPEAKER_02 (09:07):
bills and make payroll.
to the broader community of howthis, I don't know, what are we
calling it?
A financial crisis?
A deficit?
Whatever one might say.
SPEAKER_01 (09:29):
Huge problem.
Huge issue.
It's part of the title of theshow.
Huge issue, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:36):
How it is impacting them.
Heard from some educators whowere devastated to not know if
the school was going to openagain.
From families who said, we don'tknow what to do with our
children when...
school supposed to open?
SPEAKER_03 (09:51):
I have a child in the school system here.
She's going through secondgrade.
If school doesn't open, I'mconcerned about what I'm going
to do.
What does my ability look liketo transfer to another school in
a neighborhood?
What does that transportationlook 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 andplaying sports.
And what am I supposed to do ifyou cut all of these programs?
SPEAKER_01 (10:24):
The uncertainty of literally something as basic as
school opening, that's people'sjobs, not just who work at the
school and are teachers orcustodians or whatever, but also
parents who need to be able tosend their kids to school so
they can go to work.
Yeah, the students who are...
our future doctors and all ofthose things who are thinking
(10:47):
about things like early decisionand early application and need
guidance counselors to help themnavigate that.
It's a huge thing.
But it is amazing how even withall of that being true, the
community can immediately jumpinto 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 theentirety 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 districtnow?
Have they said, okay, now thatwe have this loan, we're good
(11:24):
for the school year?
Or is there still a question forthe seniors?
The seniors are like, am I goingto graduate from this school?
Is this something I need to beworried about?
What's the update on whether ornot 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 thathas 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 canwe cut back we know how is the
loan going to help I do thinkthat Claremont Savings Bank kind
of coming in with clutch withthis loan
SPEAKER_05 (12:00):
yeah
SPEAKER_01 (12:00):
will definitely help because that the biggest issue
for the district right now isjust cash flow they don't
honestly have enough moneycoming in to just pay their
bills and for them bills alsoinclude things like paying
people, which you have to do.
So that will help get that goingas they also, I think, figure
(12:21):
out payment plans and otheroptions to mitigate other
things.
So unfortunately, asuncomfortable as it is, while
that is going to help, it stillis yet to, I think, determine
whether or not work.
Because one thing I keepthinking about is like, yeah,
it's August right now, but oncewinter gets here, we have other
fees like heating these places,these massive buildings.
(12:44):
What the future looks like Ithink is still a little
uncertain.
SPEAKER_02 (12:46):
What are you hearing in terms of families making
choices of wanting to stay intheir school district?
SPEAKER_01 (12:53):
To get to that question, one thing when you
first said that that stuck outto me was the students who are
speaking at these meetings whodo want to stay in their
district.
Talking about the teachers whobelieve in them and who have
helped them to get where theyare today.
The way that our athleticsprograms or our arts and theater
(13:15):
programs have helped themdevelop the skills to do things
like public speak in front ofthree 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 goingto their schools their public
schools and I think too for thefamilies that we see in
Claremont like I grew up just 15minutes over in the next town of
Newport.
And, you know, our districts aredifferent, but similar in a lot
(13:47):
of ways.
The funding issue.
And I think, you know, bothtowns have, we have pride in our
school districts.
We have pride in the fact thatwe, like in Claremont, are the
oldest continuous alumniassociation in the country,
which I think is so cool.
What?
I know.
Little Claremont, New Hampshire.
We have a huge alumni paradeevery year.
(14:09):
I actually, like, I gotta behonest with you.
I never really quite understoodit 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's10-year reunion.
And it was really cool seeingthe immense pride in these
alumni who were coming togetherto not just participate in the
(14:32):
parade, but reconnect and sharetheir pride in their school and
share their old stories.
And one thing that was so fun ishis reunion they found out that
they're like him and hisclassmates found out that like
one of their old fourth gradeteachers live next door so they
went over and invited her andit's just like yeah like it's
(14:52):
something that is so fun andunique to Claremont but also
like really speaks to theimportance of funding public
school your neighborhood schoolyour neighborhood school yeah
for me even connecting to itfrom being in the next town over
in Newport we had a lot ofchallenges I remember summer
(15:12):
like I remember school yearswhere they would send letters
home to our parents asking tobuy like printer paper or stuff
like that because we just didn'thave enough money as a school
but you know I am so proud to bea public school graduate I love
being a Newport Tiger I thinkback to like my teachers and
maybe we didn't have the most upto date things but I never
(15:35):
really was aware of that andlike also still had some really
cool opportunities and was ableto have you know things that
I'll never forget so yeahthere's a lot of pride it's your
neighborhood school it's alsolike when you think about these
communities they're the backboneof so much I live across the
street from a park and one of myfavorite things is the softball
(15:57):
games that they do over therethe way that it becomes packed
and you see all the peoplesetting up their like little
tents and there's a couple gamesback to back it can become a
whole evening of folks comingdown and hanging out and yeah
the alumni parade things likethat 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 kidlike that does not work for my
child so like please stopassuming that we can all just go
somewhere else that is not howit works and i really love that
you bring up this pride in theirschools because every single
student that i heard in thosemeetings was saying like please
(16:38):
make sure that our school ishere i want to go to school here
they were They weren't trying togo somewhere else.
They were, I don't want to usethe word desperate, but it felt
that way of like, open ourschools and make sure my sports
programs, make sure my classesare there.
That pride is so important.
And that is what neighborhoodschools 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 inmy life who do need to be able
to go to a public school that isfully funded with the resources
they need.
My brother, he had an IEP andwas in special ed all through
our schooling.
And he had to stay a coupleextra years before he could
(17:33):
graduate.
And now he's been at his job foryears.
And he is a thriving, wonderful,Yeah.
(18:11):
school that's in their town,that they can walk to if they
want, that they can be a part ofthe community when they're not
just in the school building.
And if we start moving all ofour 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 aboutClaremont.
There was the school fundingcase from decades ago when it
still sort of looms large in alot of ways.
But I'm assuming a lot of peoplehaven'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 upand you see the school funding
stories and stuff like that.
Claremont is a reallyincredible, I'm biased of
course, I've chosen to just stayhere, but I love it.
It's an incredible town.
The folks here really, we'regoing to handle this, we're
going to get through this.
(19:06):
There was a mom who spoke at theschool board meeting the other
night and she turned to theaudience at one point and held
the microphone and she said likewe are going to figure this out
we're going to be okay we're allgoing to help be there for each
other through this and we'regoing to get our school through
this you know that is soeveryone's you know approach to
these problems and then also youcan come here and hang out with
(19:27):
the cool people but also we haveincredible recreation there's
I've recently gotten into theworld of mountain biking still
just riding my little gravelrail 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 somuch pickleball out in the world
and i was like matt if you'regonna 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 thestreet from my house and i kind
of can't wait to go though i'venever 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 toNewport or out toward Lebanon
there's awesome awesome railtrails but also our it's called
Arrowhead it's a it's like ourtubing mountain in the winter
but it has recently become likea mountain biking destination
(20:32):
and there's been a couple likemountain biking I should really
look them up it's like an enduroenduro something I don't know
but there's been some likemountain bike competitions here
which has brought a lot ofattention to our area for that
kind of recreation we also havea ton of parks we've got parks
with disc golf frisbee golfcourses so like a little bit of
(20:57):
everything for anyone great foodin Claremont
SPEAKER_02 (21:00):
yeah
SPEAKER_01 (21:01):
yeah great food we have really great restaurants
one of my favorite Mexicanplaces right here in Claremont
Rancho Viejo so good everyone gonext time you're here yeah
SPEAKER_02 (21:11):
I I'm hearing pickleball, biking, and Mexican
food.
And that's like the perfecttrifecta, frankly.
SPEAKER_01 (21:17):
Yes, we've got a lot.
And, you know, the other thingthat like about this area is why
I would love you to stay inClaremont, but there's lots of
like other cool history andculture in this area.
So once you're here, you can gocheck out things like St.
Gaudens over in Cornish.
And there's just lots of coolstuff in this area to check out
(21:37):
and explore.
And that's like, that's what Ilove.
Like when I have a Like, whatlittle gem should we go check
out today that we haven't beento in a while?
So, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (21:46):
So good.
Do people talk about the SupremeCourt cases in Claremont?
Or is that just something weoutsiders talk about?
Are you all like, please, let'snot 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 whatI said about, like, if you
Google it, it's like, you know,when folks move here and they do
look into it, that is oftentimesone of the first things that you
see.
It's a huge case, yeah.
It's a huge case.
you'll see folks talking aboutit in that way.
But 100% in the last coupleweeks, just in the wake of the
(22:18):
budget news coming out, it'sbeen coming up again.
It's been a big part of theconversation because for a lot
of folks, they immediately seethat these issues aren't
disconnected.
There's a lot of factors thatcontributed to our particular
issue, but it's not separatefrom the school funding issue.
And, you know...
(22:41):
As I said, how does a districtthat's famous for suing the
state over school funding end upgoing broke is actually what
people are asking.
And I think one thing, though,that is interesting is folks,
when they talk about it, it'slike acknowledging and it's
like, yes, this is a thing.
(23:02):
But it's not always like we knowwhat to do about it.
And I think the thing to doabout it is to tell our elected
officials our decision.
makers that like we need theirhelp and you know there's been
this message coming to claremontright now they're like this is
our problem and we have to digourself 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 isyour this is your issue but it's
not like any town that is youknow a bad budget away from
having everything heavily relyon 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 wordyway, and I don't know how to do
it.
So I'm just going to try it.
But the Claremont decision fromdecades ago essentially said,
New Hampshire, you have theobligation to fund schools
adequately and fairly.
That's the premise of thosecourt cases.
(24:08):
And the job is by our lawmakers.
They're supposed to fix theschool funding issue.
And this year, the majority ofthe lawmakers actually put in
the state budget that courtsdon'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
(24:29):
the Supreme Court said inClaremont, and then Claremont
again, and then other schoolfunding cases that we've seen.
The Supreme Court keeps saying,you're not doing this right.
You're not doing this fairly fordecades.
And the legislature, as recentlyas June of this year, has said,
you can't tell us what to do.
We're not doing that.
(24:50):
And here we are with Claremontgoing broke.
Yes, there are many variables atplay.
There should have been audits.
All sorts of things werehappening.
But the state lawmakers haveliterally said very proudly, you
can't tell us what to do.
We're not changing that.
That's not a thing we're goingto change.
(25:11):
And the way that the state fundsschools is through property
taxes.
That is how these lawmakers areokay with funding the schools.
So I don't know if I'm piecingit together, but it's like in my
head, I see the thing that ishappening 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 soabstract, but like it's just
not.
What that literally means islike they're sending less money
to things like special edthey're sending less money to
things like building aid toliterally just support these
school buildings so that kidscan go in them and they're safe
(25:49):
and up to code it's less moneyfor things like transportation
that like that's literally whatthat underfunding means and I
guess it's the question of likehow many places have to go
through this before they maybelook in the mirror or something
but yeah I do think one thingI'm thankful for is seeing this
happen in Claremont is justfolks starting to talk to our
(26:12):
lawmakers and our statelegislators and urging them to
fix this issue.
And, you know, I don't have themagic answer, but I can tell you
one thing.
What we are currently doingisn't it.
And we could at least start thatand 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 isthat we have And so your
(26:55):
question of how many communitieshave to go through this before
it changes, it would be nice ifthe answer was no more than
what's happening right now.
But I'm seeing some lawmakers onthe social media kind of
celebrating what's happening inclass.
to say, see, we told you so.
School districts, you should gosomewhere else.
(27:16):
And that's not what the studentsin Claremont are asking for.
That's not what the families inClaremont are asking for.
And so maybe those samelawmakers who are using this as
an example of why they shouldsend public dollars to wealthy
families to go to privateschool, maybe they should maybe
listen to the students inClaremont instead.
SPEAKER_01 (27:39):
I had a thought.
It was...
crazy to me listening to thestudents say that and parents
say that and you know we'recalling folks in right now but
then to have someone on theboard basically be like well you
should look into EFAs that couldsupport you like what if
everyone in Claremont just likeI guess got an EFA and then
(28:00):
donated it back to the schooldistrict like is that what
they're asking they're notallowed to
SPEAKER_02 (28:03):
do that we can go back to the education freedom
account episode with ChristinaPretorius you are not allowed to
go to public school and get aneducation freedom account
SPEAKER_01 (28:11):
It really is astonishing.
It's startling how we can havethese conversations about
literally a community having tohave fundraisers to raise enough
money so that kids can playsports this fall, can play their
band instruments, so that theycan do all the things that we
(28:33):
all got to do.
And we're having thisconversation so seriously, and
there are actually people outthere like, pointing the blame
and trying to turn it into an Itold you so moment is baffling.
And then also, you know, at thesame time, there is the state of
New Hampshire telling us thatthis is a local problem while
(28:57):
simultaneously, yeah, likehaving the unrestricted
educational freedom accountvouchers.
I don't know, from where I'mstanding, I can see a couple
issues.
I can see a couple of pointsthat need to be addressed.
And it's It's just wild how awhole community here in
Claremont can feel that, can seethose same things, can be
talking about the connectionthat they all feel between our
(29:20):
school funding problem and theissue we're in now.
And we're basically being told,like, it's not real.
Like, we're all kind of makingit up.
And I, like, I don't know ifthat sounds silly, but it's,
like, really, like, think aboutthat, folks.
Or
SPEAKER_02 (29:31):
that, like, you deserve it.
You guys did this, and so nowyou deserve to have your schools
closed.
And, like, that only hurts thestudents, the families, the
community.
Like, At large, it hurts thecity overall to have that
happen.
And what do you do when you justlet a school district close or
you just let it go?
(29:51):
It hurts the people who arethere and the community that is
there.
SPEAKER_01 (29:55):
All the outcomes of this are painful.
And ultimately, the kids are theones that have to bear the brunt
of that.
There's a lot that could be saidabout all the things.
The fact that we were able tohave kids go to school today and
folks are figuring the situationout I do think is great and it's
(30:17):
important for those students butat the end of the day we
shouldn't have ever foundourselves in this situation and
truly I think unless the stateof New Hampshire does figure its
stuff out it's only a matter oftime before not this exact
situation but other things likethis continue to happen
SPEAKER_02 (30:38):
school funding issues are not going away
anytime soon and it's onlypotentially for the rest of the
state going to get more and morechallenging with higher costs,
higher property taxes.
It's just going to keep being anissue 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 justwant 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 havea school district, you have
elected officials who areaccountable to the public,
right?
Like that's something thathappens because they're in
public office.
So you can go to school boardmeetings and talk to them.
You can set up meetings withthem one on one, I'm sure.
And then there are elections andthose things happen.
(31:26):
So, you know, whatever schooldistrict you're in, that is one
of the values of having publicschool systems because they are
accountable to the people intheir community.
Other types of institutions donot have that.
Private schools don't have that.
Charter schools schools don'thave that and those schools are
all fine but one of the mainvalues of a neighborhood school
(31:48):
is that the people who arerepresenting them are from your
actual community you yourselfcan run to be on the school
board you yourself can run to beon the budget committee of the
school board to look at thefinances to be helpful and spot
these things and see them butyeah I don't want to slam any
school board member or anythinglike that because they were
(32:10):
elected and so like their job isto be accountable to the public
and the public can share theirthoughts and that's what's
happening right now and sothere'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 issuesfor dummies books when you get
elected there's no there's noneof that
SPEAKER_02 (32:30):
maybe there should be actually maybe there should
be a school funding 101 actuallymaybe just call school funding
fairness project call ZachSheehan and be like we know a
guy we know a guy We know a fewguys, actually.
There are a few people out therewho could maybe do a quick 101
about how this all works.
Learning how to look at budgetsand things like that, that's a
(32:53):
thing to learn and practice.
You don't have to just run forschool board and go all the way
to school.
There are committees andsubcommittees that you can
participate in and help with.
I'm on my budget recommendationscommittee.
I've learned a lot about thedifferent line items, how much
we have to set aside for or thesnow removal every year.
(33:13):
It's all those details reallymatter.
SPEAKER_01 (33:15):
Yeah, you're so right.
My school board is like a waythat I can have accountability
on the school district, butalso, yeah, as a way for me to
shape things by who I'm electingto put on there, by going to the
meetings, by just talking tothese folks.
That's a great perspective forfolks to try and take on.
(33:35):
And they are interested inhearing from you.
And they do want to take yourfeedback 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'reanswering that as like get
involved in your own schoolboard city council select board
there are plenty of committeesin your community that probably
have vacancies in some way wherethey need volunteers because our
(34:05):
entire state is run byvolunteers that is literally who
run our entire state and all ofour communities.
It's all run by volunteers.
SPEAKER_01 (34:16):
It's so true.
I mean, I was volunteering mycity council and yeah, we
pointed so many folks todifferent boards and commissions
who all volunteered their time.
And little plug for the day job.
But if you are interested inseeking an appointed office, you
could check out the FordFoundation, FordMH.org.
(34:39):
We have a whole list.
We've tracked like Land useboard positions.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Like arts and council relatedthings, budgetary stuff.
And if you're interested inrunning for office, school
board, city council, state rep,state senate, anything, you
should look into 603 Forwardbecause we are the place to help
you run and get involved in yourcommunity.
(34:59):
But I do think that is, for me,the takeaway.
Like for folks in Claremontlistening 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 Claremontlistening, like show up to the
meetings, you know, try yourbest to know what's going on and
be a, as our teachers used tosay, a good representative of
our community, you know, likeremember that we're all in this
together.
And for folks outside ofClaremont, you know, stop on
Claremont.
I'll bleep myself out, butplease
SPEAKER_02 (35:32):
stop on Claremont.
Like I'm so sick of it.
I'm sick of people on cities andsaying 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 thereis no
SPEAKER_02 (35:50):
well maybe there are some but there are no bigger
deal breakers for me than whensomebody speaks badly about a
school system especially ifthey're not even from the school
system i'm like nope i do notlike that nope nope nope you are
you get a big red x from me onthis one and truly if you're in
claremont if you're a listenerand you're in claremont if
(36:10):
you've been at the school boardmeetings kudos to you because I
know everyone is working hardtrying to live their daily life
you're a parent you're agrandparent you're a community
member you've got a lot of stuffgoing on so incredible that
you're able to be there and ifyou're someone who has testified
or been up by that microphonelike that is incredible it is a
(36:33):
huge thing to get up in front ofan elected board and share your
thoughts so good job no matterwhat where you're coming from
when you get up there.
And yeah, if you're outside ofClaremont, like I am, we all
need to cool our jets aboutjudging what's going on in
Claremont.
And we should be looking in themirror instead of out the
(36:56):
window.
What should we be doing in ourown communities?
And it's getting involved.
Forward Foundation, 603 Forward.
Go on your town's website and belike, what openings are there?
I am sure there are probablysome openings for UK and
volunteer and serve and helpyour 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 makefun 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 itis really fun also just like you
get you get to like if you're aperson who wants to know the tea
about just anything it's greatif you love hot gas
SPEAKER_02 (37:36):
join your select board or your committees
actually yeah That's the way toget 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 recommendationscommittee?
What's going on with thelibrary?
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 talkabout all the stuff that
Claremont has to offer.
But also, like, I do think thatwhat we have going on is such an
important thing.
for everyone to just hear aboutand understand because I think
the more we talk to folks,you'll understand that there are
(38:17):
communities really close to youthat are facing similar issues.
So yeah, thanks for having me onto 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 lastschool board meeting, if you
watched it, my favorite thingwas when she was walking up to
the mic and you heard people inthe audience start going hope
and then everyone startsclapping like before she even
got to speak and I just lovethat like I love a that she you
(38:50):
know comes and shows up andshe's so there for us but I also
love that people recognize heras that leader for us totally
we're hyped that she was alsoher name is
SPEAKER_02 (38:59):
hope so it's like the perfect like combo of all
the things that that we'relooking for yeah I'm excited to
talk with her about it becauseshe'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 likeshe's from Croydon they
understand they understand andlocal school issues a whole
bunch so yeah of course she canspeak to what we're feeling
because it's not just us goingthrough it's
SPEAKER_02 (39:25):
not just Claremont right and it's not just Croydon
right this is a this is a biggerthing 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 discontenton Facebook and social media.
Get your information here.
At the end of the day, we canyell and scream at each other
all we want.
If we don't work together, itain't gonna matter.
We'll still have Claremont.
(40:04):
But we'll just hate each othermore.
For God's sake, people.
Come together as a community,not separate.
I've been here too freaking longto watch this happen, and I'm
going to fight to the death tomake sure it doesn't.
For seven years, I worked for the Claremont School
District.
I bare my soul for the ClaremontSchool District.
I worked with any kid they askedme to, and now I don't work for
the Claremont School District.
I love Claremont so much, somuch.
(00:28):
And now we're in a situationwe're wondering if we're going
to have school you've got sportsteams here in there fighting for
themselves because they don'tknow if they're going to have a
season because administrationdidn't do their jobs what we
(00:48):
need to do is we need to standtogether we need to say that
this is unacceptable and we needto we need to find people who
care about Claremont as much aswe do to be in charge of this
school district.
Find people who would stay hereand know the challenges that
(01:13):
they go through every singleday.
That's what we need to do.
Because you have to haveemotional 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.
(01:35):
I still want it to succeed.
And I just want leadership thatcares as much as I do.
Please!
SPEAKER_02 (01:57):
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 whathas happened in Claremont since
I talked to Matt Mushian.
We've recorded this on Thursday,August 28th.
One of the things that I reallyloved about my conversation with
Matt is that he is actually inClaremont.
(02:17):
He loves his city, he loves hiscommunity, and that comes
across.
I also included a few clips fromthe school board meetings from
members of the public and sothat we could all hear their
voices and their perspectives aswell.
The first person you just heard,as he said, is a coach.
You're going to hear from a mom.
(02:39):
And after the closeout music,there's a dad as well.
I was able to access thesebecause Claremont TV has these
recordings on their website,which is incredible.
Public access television is sucha gift for knowing what's going
on in our individualcommunities.
I've included all those links inthe show notes.
(03:00):
If you hear this episode and youwant to help, I've also included
a link to be able to donate tosupport Claremont's
extracurricular activities sothat the students there can
continue to play sports thisyear.
If you would like to supportthis show, you can go to
patreon.com slash nhhasissues.
Thank you to those who havealready become monthly
(03:22):
supporters of the show.
These topics that I cover, theseissues, come up a lot in
conversation.
People are talking aboutClaremont, of course, but
they're also talking about thecost of childcare, about the
cost of housing, about theirhealth insurance costs.
All of those conversations Iknow are happening out there.
(03:44):
So send them the episodes.
I'm going to pass it back overto me.
Thank you for listening.
You know that I like to have alittle tagline at the beginning
of the show.
I'm not sure if you've thoughtabout 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 HasIssues, the podcast that dares
(04:06):
to ask, what does Claremont haveto do with me?
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
That's a good one.
Oh, thank you.
That's actually one thateveryone should be asking too,
honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (04:16):
Yeah.
I mean, I've seen a lot of folkson the internets.
say, well, it's Claremont.
Who cares?
And I disagree with thatsentiment, and I imagine you do
as well, but maybe that's thequestion I'm trying to answer
today.
SPEAKER_01 (04:31):
I think I've got one.
All right.
Let me know if I need to reel itin a little.
No,
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
you go in whatever journey.
SPEAKER_01 (04:38):
All right.
Welcome to New Hampshire TrendsIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask how a district famous forsuing the state over school
funding still wound up broke.
SPEAKER_02 (04:49):
It's a great question.
Maybe we answer that today.
And maybe it's just left for thelistener to ponder as we move
into the world.
Yeah.
I am your host, Liz Canada.
And joining me today on thepodcast with the best background
so far, not that I'm judgingeveryone else's background, but
I'm certainly judging my own.
(05:10):
Joining me on the podcast todayis a former city councillor from
Claremont, Matt Mushian.
SPEAKER_01 (05:16):
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Feels like a while ago, but Iwas a city councilor.
I loved it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:21):
How long ago
SPEAKER_01 (05:22):
was it?
My term ended in 2023.
All right.
SPEAKER_02 (05:26):
That is not that long ago.
That is only like seven minutesago, frankly.
That was moments ago.
Matt, thank you for being here.
I really appreciate it.
I reached out to you and I waslike, I think we need to have an
emergency episode of NewHampshire Has Issues about
Claremont.
SPEAKER_01 (05:42):
Yeah.
Lots going on.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (05:43):
Yeah.
So to start with a simplequestion, what is happening in
Claremont right now?
What...
What happened?
SPEAKER_05 (05:51):
Nothing major.
SPEAKER_02 (05:54):
No, not a joke.
What's going on?
Because a lot has changed in thelast even 24 hours.
But what's the deal withClaremont?
SPEAKER_01 (06:02):
Truly, the story is continuing to develop.
But about two weeks ago now, theClaremont School Board announced
a$1 to$5 million deficit for theupcoming school year, which
raised a lot of questions.
How does this happen?
Obviously, everyone was veryworried.
(06:23):
Originally, there were some evenvery basic questions about
school starting in two weeks.
What does that mean for schoolsable to open their door?
Of course, everyone's wonderingwhat's going to happen.
Since, as you said, there's beena bunch of updates.
We've learned a bit more aboutthe situation.
The school board has hosted acouple of school board meetings
(06:44):
to hear from folks, let folksknow about what was going on,
and just try and provide someinformation about how we got
here as they themselves arestill figuring it out.
But in the wake of thisinformation, they have let go
about 39 positions.
The first wave was 19 new hireswho had yet to start their
(07:11):
school year at the school.
There were new teachers cominginto the district.
And then a meeting last week, Ithink, or earlier this week
even, there was 20 morepositions that were cut from the
district also all theextracurriculars like fall
sports band theater all thatstuff's now probably only going
to happen if the community isable to fundraise and the price
(07:34):
tag for that was given anestimated price tag for fall
sports as an example was fivehundred thousand dollars yeah
for the community to have tocome up with so that kids can go
to their games which i thinkwe're recording this thursday
august 28th i think the firstsports game is tomorrow, Friday.
Tomorrow.
SPEAKER_02 (07:52):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (07:52):
I think so.
Yeah.
So yeah, things aren't great.
School did start today though.
And I did from friends who havekids that are going back to
school, see folks posting onlineabout, you know, amidst all the
chaos and confusion, kids goingback to school today, seeing
their friends, seeing theirteachers felt really good for
them.
(08:13):
And a little bit of normalscene.
Hopefully we figure out thesituation so that they can do
all the stuff they look forwardto doing.
But yeah, that's where we areright now.
SPEAKER_02 (08:22):
And I saw the announcement.
I think this may have happenedyesterday where the school
district is able to receive aloan of$4 million.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (08:33):
Claremont Savings Bank.
I don't exactly know the type ofloan it is.
I know the acronym is like GAN.
The district was able to getbased on the fact that they will
be having guaranteed paymentscoming 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
(08:55):
cash flow and being able to keepthe schools open and do things
like pay the
SPEAKER_02 (09:07):
bills and make payroll.
to the broader community of howthis, I don't know, what are we
calling it?
A financial crisis?
A deficit?
Whatever one might say.
SPEAKER_01 (09:29):
Huge problem.
Huge issue.
It's part of the title of theshow.
Huge issue, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:36):
How it is impacting them.
Heard from some educators whowere devastated to not know if
the school was going to openagain.
From families who said, we don'tknow what to do with our
children when...
school supposed to open?
SPEAKER_03 (09:51):
I have a child in the school system here.
She's going through secondgrade.
If school doesn't open, I'mconcerned about what I'm going
to do.
What does my ability look liketo transfer to another school in
a neighborhood?
What does that transportationlook 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 andplaying sports.
And what am I supposed to do ifyou cut all of these programs?
SPEAKER_01 (10:24):
The uncertainty of literally something as basic as
school opening, that's people'sjobs, not just who work at the
school and are teachers orcustodians or whatever, but also
parents who need to be able tosend their kids to school so
they can go to work.
Yeah, the students who are...
our future doctors and all ofthose things who are thinking
(10:47):
about things like early decisionand early application and need
guidance counselors to help themnavigate that.
It's a huge thing.
But it is amazing how even withall of that being true, the
community can immediately jumpinto 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 theentirety 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 districtnow?
Have they said, okay, now thatwe have this loan, we're good
(11:24):
for the school year?
Or is there still a question forthe seniors?
The seniors are like, am I goingto graduate from this school?
Is this something I need to beworried about?
What's the update on whether ornot 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 thathas 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 canwe cut back we know how is the
loan going to help I do thinkthat Claremont Savings Bank kind
of coming in with clutch withthis loan
SPEAKER_05 (12:00):
yeah
SPEAKER_01 (12:00):
will definitely help because that the biggest issue
for the district right now isjust cash flow they don't
honestly have enough moneycoming in to just pay their
bills and for them bills alsoinclude things like paying
people, which you have to do.
So that will help get that goingas they also, I think, figure
(12:21):
out payment plans and otheroptions to mitigate other
things.
So unfortunately, asuncomfortable as it is, while
that is going to help, it stillis yet to, I think, determine
whether or not work.
Because one thing I keepthinking about is like, yeah,
it's August right now, but oncewinter gets here, we have other
fees like heating these places,these massive buildings.
(12:44):
What the future looks like Ithink is still a little
uncertain.
SPEAKER_02 (12:46):
What are you hearing in terms of families making
choices of wanting to stay intheir school district?
SPEAKER_01 (12:53):
To get to that question, one thing when you
first said that that stuck outto me was the students who are
speaking at these meetings whodo want to stay in their
district.
Talking about the teachers whobelieve in them and who have
helped them to get where theyare today.
The way that our athleticsprograms or our arts and theater
(13:15):
programs have helped themdevelop the skills to do things
like public speak in front ofthree 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 goingto their schools their public
schools and I think too for thefamilies that we see in
Claremont like I grew up just 15minutes over in the next town of
Newport.
And, you know, our districts aredifferent, but similar in a lot
(13:47):
of ways.
The funding issue.
And I think, you know, bothtowns have, we have pride in our
school districts.
We have pride in the fact thatwe, like in Claremont, are the
oldest continuous alumniassociation in the country,
which I think is so cool.
What?
I know.
Little Claremont, New Hampshire.
We have a huge alumni paradeevery year.
(14:09):
I actually, like, I gotta behonest with you.
I never really quite understoodit 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's10-year reunion.
And it was really cool seeingthe immense pride in these
alumni who were coming togetherto not just participate in the
(14:32):
parade, but reconnect and sharetheir pride in their school and
share their old stories.
And one thing that was so fun ishis reunion they found out that
they're like him and hisclassmates found out that like
one of their old fourth gradeteachers live next door so they
went over and invited her andit's just like yeah like it's
(14:52):
something that is so fun andunique to Claremont but also
like really speaks to theimportance of funding public
school your neighborhood schoolyour neighborhood school yeah
for me even connecting to itfrom being in the next town over
in Newport we had a lot ofchallenges I remember summer
(15:12):
like I remember school yearswhere they would send letters
home to our parents asking tobuy like printer paper or stuff
like that because we just didn'thave enough money as a school
but you know I am so proud to bea public school graduate I love
being a Newport Tiger I thinkback to like my teachers and
maybe we didn't have the most upto date things but I never
(15:35):
really was aware of that andlike also still had some really
cool opportunities and was ableto have you know things that
I'll never forget so yeahthere's a lot of pride it's your
neighborhood school it's alsolike when you think about these
communities they're the backboneof so much I live across the
street from a park and one of myfavorite things is the softball
(15:57):
games that they do over therethe way that it becomes packed
and you see all the peoplesetting up their like little
tents and there's a couple gamesback to back it can become a
whole evening of folks comingdown and hanging out and yeah
the alumni parade things likethat 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 kidlike that does not work for my
child so like please stopassuming that we can all just go
somewhere else that is not howit works and i really love that
you bring up this pride in theirschools because every single
student that i heard in thosemeetings was saying like please
(16:38):
make sure that our school ishere i want to go to school here
they were They weren't trying togo somewhere else.
They were, I don't want to usethe word desperate, but it felt
that way of like, open ourschools and make sure my sports
programs, make sure my classesare there.
That pride is so important.
And that is what neighborhoodschools 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 inmy life who do need to be able
to go to a public school that isfully funded with the resources
they need.
My brother, he had an IEP andwas in special ed all through
our schooling.
And he had to stay a coupleextra years before he could
(17:33):
graduate.
And now he's been at his job foryears.
And he is a thriving, wonderful,Yeah.
(18:11):
school that's in their town,that they can walk to if they
want, that they can be a part ofthe community when they're not
just in the school building.
And if we start moving all ofour 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 aboutClaremont.
There was the school fundingcase from decades ago when it
still sort of looms large in alot of ways.
But I'm assuming a lot of peoplehaven'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 upand you see the school funding
stories and stuff like that.
Claremont is a reallyincredible, I'm biased of
course, I've chosen to just stayhere, but I love it.
It's an incredible town.
The folks here really, we'regoing to handle this, we're
going to get through this.
(19:06):
There was a mom who spoke at theschool board meeting the other
night and she turned to theaudience at one point and held
the microphone and she said likewe are going to figure this out
we're going to be okay we're allgoing to help be there for each
other through this and we'regoing to get our school through
this you know that is soeveryone's you know approach to
these problems and then also youcan come here and hang out with
(19:27):
the cool people but also we haveincredible recreation there's
I've recently gotten into theworld of mountain biking still
just riding my little gravelrail 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 somuch pickleball out in the world
and i was like matt if you'regonna 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 thestreet from my house and i kind
of can't wait to go though i'venever 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 toNewport or out toward Lebanon
there's awesome awesome railtrails but also our it's called
Arrowhead it's a it's like ourtubing mountain in the winter
but it has recently become likea mountain biking destination
(20:32):
and there's been a couple likemountain biking I should really
look them up it's like an enduroenduro something I don't know
but there's been some likemountain bike competitions here
which has brought a lot ofattention to our area for that
kind of recreation we also havea ton of parks we've got parks
with disc golf frisbee golfcourses so like a little bit of
(20:57):
everything for anyone great foodin Claremont
SPEAKER_02 (21:00):
yeah
SPEAKER_01 (21:01):
yeah great food we have really great restaurants
one of my favorite Mexicanplaces right here in Claremont
Rancho Viejo so good everyone gonext time you're here yeah
SPEAKER_02 (21:11):
I I'm hearing pickleball, biking, and Mexican
food.
And that's like the perfecttrifecta, frankly.
SPEAKER_01 (21:17):
Yes, we've got a lot.
And, you know, the other thingthat like about this area is why
I would love you to stay inClaremont, but there's lots of
like other cool history andculture in this area.
So once you're here, you can gocheck out things like St.
Gaudens over in Cornish.
And there's just lots of coolstuff in this area to check out
(21:37):
and explore.
And that's like, that's what Ilove.
Like when I have a Like, whatlittle gem should we go check
out today that we haven't beento in a while?
So, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (21:46):
So good.
Do people talk about the SupremeCourt cases in Claremont?
Or is that just something weoutsiders talk about?
Are you all like, please, let'snot 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 whatI said about, like, if you
Google it, it's like, you know,when folks move here and they do
look into it, that is oftentimesone of the first things that you
see.
It's a huge case, yeah.
It's a huge case.
you'll see folks talking aboutit in that way.
But 100% in the last coupleweeks, just in the wake of the
(22:18):
budget news coming out, it'sbeen coming up again.
It's been a big part of theconversation because for a lot
of folks, they immediately seethat these issues aren't
disconnected.
There's a lot of factors thatcontributed to our particular
issue, but it's not separatefrom the school funding issue.
And, you know...
(22:41):
As I said, how does a districtthat's famous for suing the
state over school funding end upgoing broke is actually what
people are asking.
And I think one thing, though,that is interesting is folks,
when they talk about it, it'slike acknowledging and it's
like, yes, this is a thing.
(23:02):
But it's not always like we knowwhat to do about it.
And I think the thing to doabout it is to tell our elected
officials our decision.
makers that like we need theirhelp and you know there's been
this message coming to claremontright now they're like this is
our problem and we have to digourself 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 isyour this is your issue but it's
not like any town that is youknow a bad budget away from
having everything heavily relyon 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 wordyway, and I don't know how to do
it.
So I'm just going to try it.
But the Claremont decision fromdecades ago essentially said,
New Hampshire, you have theobligation to fund schools
adequately and fairly.
That's the premise of thosecourt cases.
(24:08):
And the job is by our lawmakers.
They're supposed to fix theschool funding issue.
And this year, the majority ofthe lawmakers actually put in
the state budget that courtsdon'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
(24:29):
the Supreme Court said inClaremont, and then Claremont
again, and then other schoolfunding cases that we've seen.
The Supreme Court keeps saying,you're not doing this right.
You're not doing this fairly fordecades.
And the legislature, as recentlyas June of this year, has said,
you can't tell us what to do.
We're not doing that.
(24:50):
And here we are with Claremontgoing broke.
Yes, there are many variables atplay.
There should have been audits.
All sorts of things werehappening.
But the state lawmakers haveliterally said very proudly, you
can't tell us what to do.
We're not changing that.
That's not a thing we're goingto change.
(25:11):
And the way that the state fundsschools is through property
taxes.
That is how these lawmakers areokay with funding the schools.
So I don't know if I'm piecingit together, but it's like in my
head, I see the thing that ishappening 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 soabstract, but like it's just
not.
What that literally means islike they're sending less money
to things like special edthey're sending less money to
things like building aid toliterally just support these
school buildings so that kidscan go in them and they're safe
(25:49):
and up to code it's less moneyfor things like transportation
that like that's literally whatthat underfunding means and I
guess it's the question of likehow many places have to go
through this before they maybelook in the mirror or something
but yeah I do think one thingI'm thankful for is seeing this
happen in Claremont is justfolks starting to talk to our
(26:12):
lawmakers and our statelegislators and urging them to
fix this issue.
And, you know, I don't have themagic answer, but I can tell you
one thing.
What we are currently doingisn't it.
And we could at least start thatand 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 isthat we have And so your
(26:55):
question of how many communitieshave to go through this before
it changes, it would be nice ifthe answer was no more than
what's happening right now.
But I'm seeing some lawmakers onthe social media kind of
celebrating what's happening inclass.
to say, see, we told you so.
School districts, you should gosomewhere else.
(27:16):
And that's not what the studentsin Claremont are asking for.
That's not what the families inClaremont are asking for.
And so maybe those samelawmakers who are using this as
an example of why they shouldsend public dollars to wealthy
families to go to privateschool, maybe they should maybe
listen to the students inClaremont instead.
SPEAKER_01 (27:39):
I had a thought.
It was...
crazy to me listening to thestudents say that and parents
say that and you know we'recalling folks in right now but
then to have someone on theboard basically be like well you
should look into EFAs that couldsupport you like what if
everyone in Claremont just likeI guess got an EFA and then
(28:00):
donated it back to the schooldistrict like is that what
they're asking they're notallowed to
SPEAKER_02 (28:03):
do that we can go back to the education freedom
account episode with ChristinaPretorius you are not allowed to
go to public school and get aneducation freedom account
SPEAKER_01 (28:11):
It really is astonishing.
It's startling how we can havethese conversations about
literally a community having tohave fundraisers to raise enough
money so that kids can playsports this fall, can play their
band instruments, so that theycan do all the things that we
(28:33):
all got to do.
And we're having thisconversation so seriously, and
there are actually people outthere like, pointing the blame
and trying to turn it into an Itold you so moment is baffling.
And then also, you know, at thesame time, there is the state of
New Hampshire telling us thatthis is a local problem while
(28:57):
simultaneously, yeah, likehaving the unrestricted
educational freedom accountvouchers.
I don't know, from where I'mstanding, I can see a couple
issues.
I can see a couple of pointsthat need to be addressed.
And it's It's just wild how awhole community here in
Claremont can feel that, can seethose same things, can be
talking about the connectionthat they all feel between our
(29:20):
school funding problem and theissue we're in now.
And we're basically being told,like, it's not real.
Like, we're all kind of makingit up.
And I, like, I don't know ifthat sounds silly, but it's,
like, really, like, think aboutthat, folks.
Or
SPEAKER_02 (29:31):
that, like, you deserve it.
You guys did this, and so nowyou deserve to have your schools
closed.
And, like, that only hurts thestudents, the families, the
community.
Like, At large, it hurts thecity overall to have that
happen.
And what do you do when you justlet a school district close or
you just let it go?
(29:51):
It hurts the people who arethere and the community that is
there.
SPEAKER_01 (29:55):
All the outcomes of this are painful.
And ultimately, the kids are theones that have to bear the brunt
of that.
There's a lot that could be saidabout all the things.
The fact that we were able tohave kids go to school today and
folks are figuring the situationout I do think is great and it's
(30:17):
important for those students butat the end of the day we
shouldn't have ever foundourselves in this situation and
truly I think unless the stateof New Hampshire does figure its
stuff out it's only a matter oftime before not this exact
situation but other things likethis continue to happen
SPEAKER_02 (30:38):
school funding issues are not going away
anytime soon and it's onlypotentially for the rest of the
state going to get more and morechallenging with higher costs,
higher property taxes.
It's just going to keep being anissue 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 justwant 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 havea school district, you have
elected officials who areaccountable to the public,
right?
Like that's something thathappens because they're in
public office.
So you can go to school boardmeetings and talk to them.
You can set up meetings withthem one on one, I'm sure.
And then there are elections andthose things happen.
(31:26):
So, you know, whatever schooldistrict you're in, that is one
of the values of having publicschool systems because they are
accountable to the people intheir community.
Other types of institutions donot have that.
Private schools don't have that.
Charter schools schools don'thave that and those schools are
all fine but one of the mainvalues of a neighborhood school
(31:48):
is that the people who arerepresenting them are from your
actual community you yourselfcan run to be on the school
board you yourself can run to beon the budget committee of the
school board to look at thefinances to be helpful and spot
these things and see them butyeah I don't want to slam any
school board member or anythinglike that because they were
(32:10):
elected and so like their job isto be accountable to the public
and the public can share theirthoughts and that's what's
happening right now and sothere'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 issuesfor dummies books when you get
elected there's no there's noneof that
SPEAKER_02 (32:30):
maybe there should be actually maybe there should
be a school funding 101 actuallymaybe just call school funding
fairness project call ZachSheehan and be like we know a
guy we know a guy We know a fewguys, actually.
There are a few people out therewho could maybe do a quick 101
about how this all works.
Learning how to look at budgetsand things like that, that's a
(32:53):
thing to learn and practice.
You don't have to just run forschool board and go all the way
to school.
There are committees andsubcommittees that you can
participate in and help with.
I'm on my budget recommendationscommittee.
I've learned a lot about thedifferent line items, how much
we have to set aside for or thesnow removal every year.
(33:13):
It's all those details reallymatter.
SPEAKER_01 (33:15):
Yeah, you're so right.
My school board is like a waythat I can have accountability
on the school district, butalso, yeah, as a way for me to
shape things by who I'm electingto put on there, by going to the
meetings, by just talking tothese folks.
That's a great perspective forfolks to try and take on.
(33:35):
And they are interested inhearing from you.
And they do want to take yourfeedback 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'reanswering that as like get
involved in your own schoolboard city council select board
there are plenty of committeesin your community that probably
have vacancies in some way wherethey need volunteers because our
(34:05):
entire state is run byvolunteers that is literally who
run our entire state and all ofour communities.
It's all run by volunteers.
SPEAKER_01 (34:16):
It's so true.
I mean, I was volunteering mycity council and yeah, we
pointed so many folks todifferent boards and commissions
who all volunteered their time.
And little plug for the day job.
But if you are interested inseeking an appointed office, you
could check out the FordFoundation, FordMH.org.
(34:39):
We have a whole list.
We've tracked like Land useboard positions.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Like arts and council relatedthings, budgetary stuff.
And if you're interested inrunning for office, school
board, city council, state rep,state senate, anything, you
should look into 603 Forwardbecause we are the place to help
you run and get involved in yourcommunity.
(34:59):
But I do think that is, for me,the takeaway.
Like for folks in Claremontlistening 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 Claremontlistening, like show up to the
meetings, you know, try yourbest to know what's going on and
be a, as our teachers used tosay, a good representative of
our community, you know, likeremember that we're all in this
together.
And for folks outside ofClaremont, you know, stop on
Claremont.
I'll bleep myself out, butplease
SPEAKER_02 (35:32):
stop on Claremont.
Like I'm so sick of it.
I'm sick of people on cities andsaying 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 thereis no
SPEAKER_02 (35:50):
well maybe there are some but there are no bigger
deal breakers for me than whensomebody speaks badly about a
school system especially ifthey're not even from the school
system i'm like nope i do notlike that nope nope nope you are
you get a big red x from me onthis one and truly if you're in
claremont if you're a listenerand you're in claremont if
(36:10):
you've been at the school boardmeetings kudos to you because I
know everyone is working hardtrying to live their daily life
you're a parent you're agrandparent you're a community
member you've got a lot of stuffgoing on so incredible that
you're able to be there and ifyou're someone who has testified
or been up by that microphonelike that is incredible it is a
(36:33):
huge thing to get up in front ofan elected board and share your
thoughts so good job no matterwhat where you're coming from
when you get up there.
And yeah, if you're outside ofClaremont, like I am, we all
need to cool our jets aboutjudging what's going on in
Claremont.
And we should be looking in themirror instead of out the
(36:56):
window.
What should we be doing in ourown communities?
And it's getting involved.
Forward Foundation, 603 Forward.
Go on your town's website and belike, what openings are there?
I am sure there are probablysome openings for UK and
volunteer and serve and helpyour 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 makefun 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 itis really fun also just like you
get you get to like if you're aperson who wants to know the tea
about just anything it's greatif you love hot gas
SPEAKER_02 (37:36):
join your select board or your committees
actually yeah That's the way toget 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 recommendationscommittee?
What's going on with thelibrary?
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 talkabout all the stuff that
Claremont has to offer.
But also, like, I do think thatwhat we have going on is such an
important thing.
for everyone to just hear aboutand understand because I think
the more we talk to folks,you'll understand that there are
(38:17):
communities really close to youthat are facing similar issues.
So yeah, thanks for having me onto 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 lastschool board meeting, if you
watched it, my favorite thingwas when she was walking up to
the mic and you heard people inthe audience start going hope
and then everyone startsclapping like before she even
got to speak and I just lovethat like I love a that she you
(38:50):
know comes and shows up andshe's so there for us but I also
love that people recognize heras that leader for us totally
we're hyped that she was alsoher name is
SPEAKER_02 (38:59):
hope so it's like the perfect like combo of all
the things that that we'relooking for yeah I'm excited to
talk with her about it becauseshe'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 likeshe's from Croydon they
understand they understand andlocal school issues a whole
bunch so yeah of course she canspeak to what we're feeling
because it's not just us goingthrough it's
SPEAKER_02 (39:25):
not just Claremont right and it's not just Croydon
right this is a this is a biggerthing 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 discontenton Facebook and social media.
Get your information here.
At the end of the day, we canyell and scream at each other
all we want.
If we don't work together, itain't gonna matter.
We'll still have Claremont.
(40:04):
But we'll just hate each othermore.
For God's sake, people.
Come together as a community,not separate.
I've been here too freaking longto watch this happen, and I'm
going to fight to the death tomake sure it doesn't.
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