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Jim Sullivan

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  • Concerned Citizen (Tuesday, May 19 26 08:04 pm EDT)

    That $82,417 that Justin Martin made in 2024 would be for about 11 months as director and 1 month as assistant director, so his annual director pay would likely be a little higher. Still nothing like some other municipalities. For example, Lebanon’s Parks & Rec Director made $121,828 in 2024, Hanover’s Parks & Rec Director made $130,431 in 2024. Newport would be closer to Claremont at $91,193 in 2024.

  • Sounds fishy (Tuesday, May 19 26 04:18 pm EDT)

    When do the allegations come out?

  • PRIDE (Tuesday, May 19 26 03:49 pm EDT)

    You mean the homeless shelter with the rainbow flag?

  • Curious (Tuesday, May 19 26 03:36 pm EDT)

    Why does the church on pleasant street practice witch craft?

  • Dan (Tuesday, May 19 26 03:09 pm EDT)

    Did I just hear that the county is in favor of increasing the county portion of our property taxes by 8-9 percent? That’s a pretty big increase.

  • Organic Man (Tuesday, May 19 26 01:59 pm EDT)

    Guys just do your own research and do a little digging. Claremont is having a mass exodus of staff members which includes teachers leaving at the end of the school year. Nobody wants to work for the Claremont school district. We currently don’t have enough staff to keep our schools safe from bullying and keep kids behaviors in line. We are pulling staff from other schools to fill in because we don’t even have substitutes. Our resource officer keeps saying welcome to Stevens 6 7 and 8. She’s the resource officer and is saying things like that it probably means we are in a bad place. Take a look at the open positions the Saints hiring for. It’s a lot of open positions but it’s not even half of them. They just haven’t posted the rest yet for some unknown reason. There is no way we can operate 4 schools next year and maybe we can’t even operate 3 schools next year. We might have to eventually go to the 2 school model next year somehow. Reaching out to the school board is useless because whenever I do it they never know what they are talking about or just hide things from the public. Remember they hire the people who get us into these messes. They make themselves look as good as possible while running for school board and when they get elected they have no idea what they are doing. So yes we are in a bad position.

  • Dick (Tuesday, May 19 26 12:38 pm EDT)

    Brad where did KPP get his info from? Certainly wasn’t the school board if they don’t plan on talking about it. It’s all false information. The school board has it all handled. They know more then us.

  • Brad (Tuesday, May 19 26 12:30 pm EDT)

    Dick you are being handled Kipp Ryan repor8 only 5 teachers are returning to middle school in September That is not normal and who would want to come to work in Claremont? Unity and Goshen left sending their kids elsewhere

  • Dick (Tuesday, May 19 26 12:03 pm EDT)

    I have reached out to a school board member. I asked if tomorrow’s school board meeting will focus on staff members leaving in mass amounts, schools possibly not having enough staff next year to operate safely, and substitutes filling in for full time teachers. I was told that it has been the norm for many years for staff members to leave at the end of the school year. And that during the summer we hire replacements. This happens in most school districts. I was also told that all schools are remaining open until the end of the school year and next year all schools will open again per the terms decided on in a past meeting and voted on by voters. No schools will close because of not having enough staff next year. We will hire new ones over the summer like we always do. They also told me for decades substitutes have been filling in for full time teachers as needed that’s nothing new.

    The school board member told me they will discuss bus contracts, food providers, and picture contracts. They also hope to discuss a little bit about vape detectors to be put in schools and the selling of two buildings. The Claremont school district is doing well and everything is moving forward as planned for next year. They also told me we just hired a new superintendent that is going to be able to recruit new staff members that want to work here. Next year will look very different in a good way for Claremont.

    See guys the school board has everything covered. Don’t believe the rumors about staff members leaving, and schools not being safe. It’s not true and the school board would be talking about it at a upcoming meeting if it was true or needed to be discussed.

  • Bob (Tuesday, May 19 26 11:34 am EDT)

    Citize

    Now what about Shaun?

  • citizen (Tuesday, May 19 26 11:29 am EDT)

    according to gov salaries justin made $82,417 in 2024

  • Gary (Tuesday, May 19 26 07:47 am EDT)

    It stems from Claremont not responding to mutual aid calls. I hear that other towns do the same thing. Chief Chamberlain saying Claremont FD responded to all mutual aid calls is true but he left out the part that several nearby towns no longer call Claremont for assistance. Lie by omission.

  • Helen (Tuesday, May 19 26 07:37 am EDT)

    Can someone explain to me why Claremont does not get called to assist at Charlestown fires? Claremont also does not call Charlestown for assistance? Very curious what happened that border towns bypass each other when lives and property are on the line. Seems very childish.

  • Bob (Tuesday, May 19 26 07:30 am EDT)

    Seriously,
    What did the city pay Justin Martin and how much does parks and rec pay Shaun? We know his school pay.

  • Joe (Monday, May 18 26 08:45 pm EDT)

    Just talk to the what’s up Claremont Admin and you’ll learn all you ever wanted to know about schools in Claremont. Let me tell you though that it’s worse than what anybody knows yet. Just talk to people inside the schools and it’s awful.

  • Concerned Citizen (Monday, May 18 26 08:17 pm EDT)

    Jim,
    Resident per capita income should not have that big of role in municipal employees’ salaries. But we still absolutely need to focus on how our current tax burden affects our lower income residents. Just as vendors don’t give us discounts for things such as vehicle leases, paving, or pretty much any goods or services because our per capita income is low, we can’t expect to hire skilled employees if the surrounding municipalities offer significantly higher compensation for the same jobs (and in some cases extremely higher, check out https://govsalaries.com/). I don’t know how we keep some of our excellent employees based on the salary figures that I have looked into for certain positions. Also remember that the reason that our resident per capita income is low is because we have a fair number of residents that work in positions that are low paying because of the position, not because they work or live in Claremont. And just as they are paid fairly for the types of positions that they have, our City employees also need to be fairly compensated for the types of positions that they have. In the past Claremont attracted lower income residents, because housing was less expensive than neighboring communities which left us with a higher percentage of lower income families than the surrounding communities. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a realistic picture of where Claremont stands. And yes, for a somewhat poorer community, we do have what some might consider luxuries. For example, some New Hampshire communities rely on volunteers to staff their libraries, while we have an excellently staffed library (much appreciated). We have a 24-hour a day staffed Fire Department, which although not all communities have this, when minutes matter, the potential saving of lives and property that might otherwise be lost makes it something that I don’t think many taxpayers would argue against. Despite all the issues that the Parks and Rec Department has endured, it is worth it for the community to invest in saving what we still have. Perhaps we can come up with ways to attract more businesses and encourage the development of higher value residential neighborhoods. Unfortunately, with the current state of things including all the school system drama, this may be a daunting task. Now that we have a new Planning & Development Director, who knows, she might be able to start to get things moving in a beneficial direction for all. As far as Fire and Teamsters are concerned, there are definitely “some” of the positions that we need to really have the larger portion of their raises hit the first year just to bring them up to something that is at least somewhere in the normal range. All that being said, yes some of our employees really don’t need or deserve much of any salary increases, but there are others where it is beyond embarrassing how low we pay them for their positions. Despite our years of bad City Manager experiences, I still want to give our current City Manager every possibility to succeed and “if” the bottom line of the budget is still reasonable let her have some freedom in how she achieves it (this is mainly meant for advice to council members, I still do appreciate all of the information and ideas that you come up with and we shouldn’t have many complaints about public watchdogs whether we agree with them or not. And I also find your public forum beneficial even when people who seem to not have a clue about what they are talking about post, as it encourages public involvement in their community (and sometimes it's good for a needed laugh)

  • Jim Sullivan (Monday, May 18 26 07:59 pm EDT)

    I have already requested the information regarding staffing levels but school officials are dragging their feet turning the documentation over. I think they don't want the public to know just how bad things are.

  • Staffing Levels (Monday, May 18 26 07:47 pm EDT)

    Jim: you gotta dig in to what is going on with staffing at the schools. credible people are saying on WUC that CMS has so low staff they can't function, and there are MANY resignations for next year. I don't know what you ask for, they must have emails or docs on this, but this is going to be bigger than the financial crisis if it is true.

  • James (Monday, May 18 26 07:32 pm EDT)

    I don't need to 91a it as I already have it. When Damien Fisher checks his inbox he will have it as well. I am simply not doing Jim Sullivans work for him. He pretends he is watching out for corruption but if it involves certain people he cowers and deletes.

  • Bob (Monday, May 18 26 04:51 pm EDT)

    What was the compensation for Justin?
    What is the pay for Shawn that Parks and Rec pays?

  • Jim Sullivan (Monday, May 18 26 04:38 pm EDT)

    I just received the following response from the Right to Know Request that I sent today to the SAU #6 Office.

    “On 5/18/2026 4:27 PM, SAU6 Right-to-Know wrote:
    Good afternoon Mr. Sullivan,
    In response to your request;
    "I am requesting a copy of all emails between the New Hampshire Department of Education and SAU #6 and/or the Claremont School District (sent and received) for the past 4 months regarding low staffing issues within the Claremont School District and any correspondence regarding any possible Waiver Requests during that same 4 month period."
    There are no emails between the NH DOE and any party responsive to your request.
    Thank you”.

  • Fuck this rag of a site (Monday, May 18 26 04:37 pm EDT)

    It's 4:36pm! Where is everyone?! I'm at the SAU office and there is no one here!! Where is this meeting you all knew about and said was happening?!

    Rumors ARE like assholes, as previously stated.

  • Becky (Monday, May 18 26 04:20 pm EDT)

    Thank you Jim

    I do believe the comments about the school district today. I have faith that some people working as higher ups in the SAU have a soul and secretly try to get the info they know out there. It’s probably all confidential info but someone cares and is the whistleblower so all can know.

  • Jim Sullivan (Monday, May 18 26 04:01 pm EDT)

    To try to determine what is going on in regards to the staffing crisis within the Claremont School District, I just requested from the SAU #6 Office a copy of all emails between the New Hampshire Department of Education and SAU #6 and/or the Claremont School District (sent and received) for the past 4 months regarding low staffing issues within the Claremont School District and any correspondence regarding any possible Waiver Requests during that same 4 month period. I am doing this because Claremont School & SAU #6 Officials are not telling us the truth about what is really going on and whether we will have adequate staffing to open schools in September. I have tried to get documentation regarding estimated Teacher Vacancies and I am still waiting to receive that information as School Officials are clearly dragging their feet; presumably because they don’t want me having that information because they know I will publish it on my website, the Sullivan Report, thus informing the Citizens of Claremont as to what is really going on. Reading today’s Public Forum comments, it hadn’t occurred to me that New Hampshire State Department Of Education Officials might already be involved; legitimately concerned about the staffing crisis. So since I cannot ask questions because School Officials refuse to answer questions while claiming they are totally open and transparent which is a load of crap, I can certainly request documents, which they eventually will have to provide. Let’s see if any exist and if they do I will certainly publish them to inform the public because unlike School Officials I believe that the Citizens of this community deserve the truth and not whitewashed lies and half-truths!

    In regards to Claremont City Employees getting raises, I firmly believe that they should receive pay raises. However, the pay raises proposed by City Manager Nancy Bates and her staff are far too generous; average pay raises for certain staff members, whose union contracts are expiring ranging between $16,654 – $23,038 over the course of 3 years is absurd! Of course, the Bates Administration did not let the Councilors or the viewing public know just exactly how expensive these pay raises are or how much these employees would have their pockets lined with Claremont Taxpayer Dollars if the Councilors rubberstamp this plan; even if it is spread out evenly over the next 3 years. As I stated in my article, one important metric was never mentioned by the Bates Administration; Per Capita Income and all but 1 of the municipality’s chosen as comparators all have a significantly higher Per Capita Income ranging between 10.38% and 204.72% higher than Claremont’s Per Capita Income, thus skewing the results to show higher salary disparity; presumably by intent! As I stated earlier, I support pay raises for Claremont Municipal Employees but not enormous pay raises that will take advantage of the Citizens of Claremont will also have to pay living expenses just like everyone else and most of them are not receiving pay raises as high as what is being proposed by the Bates Administration!

    In regards to these two separate issues, one thing is in common regarding both City & School Officials; none of them can be trusted!

  • Move out before it’s too late (Monday, May 18 26 02:48 pm EDT)

    Yeah I think the emergency meeting is taking place. Maybe the person had the time and date wrong or something. But the middle school only has 5 teachers coming back next year.

    “I heard today that they are estimating that 5 teachers from CMS are coming back next year. The rest are leaving. Both 8th grade English teachers are leaving.” KPP Ryan

  • Victor (Monday, May 18 26 02:32 pm EDT)

    Sure there isn’t a meeting. Just another cover up by the SAU.

  • Rumors Are Like Assholes (Monday, May 18 26 02:08 pm EDT)

    There is no "emergency meeting" at the Dow scheduled to discuss these issues. I confirmed it with both a board member and the superintendent. Nothing in the post below is accurate.

  • Grant (Monday, May 18 26 12:44 pm EDT)

    Emergency meeting taking place at 4:30pm at the SAU office about options on how to finish the school year with so many vacancies. The state is breathing down the SAUs neck about not having enough adults in CMS for safety. Options on the table are to end school early for the year and send students home with work to do and submit through email, end school early due to safety concerns and get a waiver from the state. Keep school running but divide CMS into the high school and elementary schools and have as many SAU admins monitor the students. Cancel all legally not required bussing and have bus drivers come in and monitor students at CMS.

  • Two Jobs (Monday, May 18 26 12:43 pm EDT)

    It’s hard in today economy to make enough money to support your family, your wife and your girlfriend.

  • Outsider (Monday, May 18 26 12:10 pm EDT)

    Why there so many moonlighters working for the city?

  • Insider (Monday, May 18 26 11:48 am EDT)

    Matthew, you are right. I’ve been saying the same thing for years. I learned to always knock before opening a door. Nasty people. Get a hotel.

  • Insider Watchdog of Schools (Monday, May 18 26 11:48 am EDT)

    What’s up Claremont admin is painting a pretty grim picture for next year in Claremont.

    “(Opinion post)
    CMS Principal - Vacant
    CMS Assistant Principal - Vacant
    SHS Assistant Principal - Vacant
    Teachers, Paras, support staff - many vacancies.
    Rumors that we will not have enough staff to provide an education to our students next year. Warnings that certain buildings are CURRENTLY not completely 'safe' because of the lack of adults in them.
    I don't believe we have yet been provided an accurate picture of what our anticipated staffing looks like for the fall...and the clock is ticking.
    I have grave concerns for all of the schools. I cannot imagine that any certified teachers from other districts are beating down our doors to jump into the mess we find ourselves in.
    • What happens if we can't sufficiently staff our schools?
    • How will we provide opportunities for our students?
    • How will we be able to prepare them for college if we can't even ensure that they get the courses they need (there is ONE 'foreign language' at SHS this year - ASL... (no Spanish, French, etc)
    If you are a parent or student that is going to be going to, or is returning to CMS or SHS you might want to get involved, ask questions, and demand answers and action.
    My biggest fear is this image below...classrooms with substitutes or paraprofessionals who will simply be there to ensure that the kids are somewhat focused on their online learning - with no real, meaningful, in person lessons and very little support. Faces buried in their VLACS connected devices working independently with little human contact.
    Remember how well THAT worked when we stopped the world from turning during Covid? Disaster.
    My gut is telling me that next year might be even worse than this one has been... and that is terrifying.“ KPP Ryan

  • Gina (Monday, May 18 26 11:40 am EDT)

    Why did my kid go to CMS this morning and not have a principal? I thought they had a replacement?

  • Fact (Monday, May 18 26 10:47 am EDT)

    James is another coward who works for the city. Make you own 91A request, try being a man when your not sucking on a peepee.

  • Matthew (Monday, May 18 26 09:48 am EDT)

    I am more concerned with the city corruption, forced resignations, the fact many city employees think speed dating is part of their job. Go get laid on your own time.

  • Valerie (Monday, May 18 26 08:45 am EDT)

    Tough guy who wouldn’t say a word to M or G in person. They are real men who actually do things in the community and have built a legacy and empire. Go cry in your basement you liberal wanker.

  • James (Monday, May 18 26 07:13 am EDT)

    What Jim means is he is scared and unwilling to request any police department information involving Mark or Greg and threats made to the former building inspector while he was the building inspector. Please Jim explain your way out of not 91a requesting that information. Also recorded in dispatch would be notes on how many times Mark dispatches himself to a few fire department propane calls that do not involve him or any company he works with. Also the record of a dispute between a property he owns and a neighbor complaining of work when the officer responds he has to ask for a supervisor as the matter involves a police commissioner. All records Jim would request unless if it was anyone else. Instead Jim deleted the post and others. You sir are the incompetent one. We see you for who you are.

  • Tom (Monday, May 18 26 06:21 am EDT)

    Jim, your “per capita” rationale for believing the comparison between Claremont firefighters and other NH communities is invalid, is itself wrong. Do you suppose Claremont firemen have reduced household expenses simply because they live in a poorer city? Do you think the monthly payment on their family automobile is somehow less because they live in Claremont vs if they owned the same automobile in Hanover? Or their auto or home insurance? Or the cost of groceries, gasoline, electricity, home heating oil, auto registration, family vacations, sports and fitness programs, and the list goes on? These people need to be able to live as well. And on the one hand you decry “incompetent city administrators” as the reason city staff leave, but the reality is that most leave for better income in neighboring cities. You know this, but apparently you want to have your cake and eat it too. Yes, the taxes are too high here and the city should be careful with its spending. But if we want to hire good people, and get them to stay, we need to pay them.

  • Jim Sullivan (Sunday, May 17 26 11:19 pm EDT)

    Special Report.
    Principle of Claremont Middle School Resigns. Public Notice published on the News Flashes page of this website.

  • Jim Sullivan (Sunday, May 17 26 11:06 pm EDT)

    Political Candidates are fair game since they threw their hat into the political arena until the campaign is over and they either win or lose. If they win they become a public official. If they lose they become a private citizen again.

  • Citizen Cane (Sunday, May 17 26 10:56 pm EDT)

    So in the next election we can criticize the incumbents because they are public officials, but not those running against them because they aren't public officials? In the last election you let people criticize non-public officials running for office.

  • Jim Sullivan (Sunday, May 17 26 10:56 pm EDT)

    Twelve new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.

    1) Pleasant Street Closure.

    2) North & Main Street road construction project update.

    3) Claremont City Councilors still accomplish nothing during May 13, 2026 meeting!

    4) Parks & Recreation Director Justin Martin Resigns!

    5) Some Interesting Things about Assistant Parks & Recreation Director Shaun Laplante that you may not know about!

    6) Gina Gavin Hired as Claremont's New Planning & Development Director.

    7) Claremont Development Authority taking over Claremont's Tax Increment Finance District Advisory Board!

    8) City Councilors continue keeping silent about disturbing information within Municipal Department Reports!

    9) New Housing Development Coming to Claremont.

    10) Dale Girard should have been a farmer as he is really good at spreading the manure!

    11) Claremont School District still going, wild in regards to paying Stipends to Claremont School District Employees!

    12) The Claremont School District Stipend Scandal! Part #21 – Stipends List

  • Jim Sullivan (Sunday, May 17 26 10:45 pm EDT)

    Private citizen = not a public official. Unsubstantiated allegations = unproven allegation.

  • citizen (Sunday, May 17 26 09:37 pm EDT)

    Jim: i don't see how that policy is consistent with the comments you have removed vs kept up. What is your definition of "private citizen" and "unsubstantiated allegations"?

  • Jim Sullivan (Sunday, May 17 26 09:07 pm EDT)

    I draw the line at attacking family members, private citizens and unsubstantiated allegations. I also pay for this website myself; no donations.

  • Grug (Sunday, May 17 26 08:28 pm EDT)

    How does him afford to keep this site up? Come on guys follow the money it’s obvious.

  • The Truth (Sunday, May 17 26 05:29 pm EDT)

    You could write the same exact statement about 10 different people on here, and Jim would sort through and remove some and not others. So much for his anti-corruption and transparency.

  • Big Show (Sunday, May 17 26 05:11 pm EDT)

    Do you like surprises? I promise a big surprise is coming to you soon. Better get your popcorn and pop ready for the entertainment.

  • Commentor (Sunday, May 17 26 04:12 pm EDT)

    Jim: can you explain your policy on deleting comments. You are ok with insults directed at some people, but not others? You insult people yourself in your articles. You trying to protect Girard now? many people come here for the comments.

  • Henry (Sunday, May 17 26 03:27 pm EDT)

    I’m glad we have businessmen in town with a backbone that don’t just bend to the whims of the dumb ass “inspector” with a power trip. Resign, don’t come back. Don’t hire a new one. Worse than security guards, they are all wannabes with little nuts.

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