Conversations with Sgt. Smith

In this episode, we sit down with school board member Lisa Carlberg for a candid conversation about her first 100 days in office and the state of the district. From increased transparency and community communication to the real challenges behind a multi-million dollar budget shortfall, Lisa shares what’s working, what’s uncertain, and what still needs to change.We dive into key issues like the closure of the Maple Street program, the future of special education support, and the importance of parental involvement in student success. Lisa also opens up about pushback she’s received, her commitment to transparency, and why she believes honest communication is critical to rebuilding trust in the community.The conversation expands into bigger-picture topics, including declining enrollment, open enrollment policies, student mental health, and the long-term impact of community engagement on school performance.This episode is an honest look at leadership, accountability, and the difficult decisions shaping the future of local education

Don’t judge me too, harshly as a moderator of this debate never been a moderator before. I did my best to fact check where I needed to fact check. To get control when I need to get control to move forward allow people plenty of time to make their points.The debate was specifically about the results of the Annie Azarloza investigation and report. Annie Azarloza’s investigation has placed a spotlight on the school board and our education system. People had commented on corruption in our system and issues with transparency. Others have commented that Annie was not good for our system and we are better off moving away from her policies. Karen Stokes has sat with me individually and had a conversation about her time with the school board and the issues she observed with the investigation she is a member of the change starts here Facebook page and resigned her position on the board because of the decision to remove Annie from the superintendent position. Fred Leonard has also spoken with me as well at length both on and off the podcast. He has also been outspoken on Facebook. Fred has defended the actions of Shane Downs the school board chairman and the school board’s decision to remove Annie as the superintendent.

Paul Cormier was my last follow up to Annie for a while I think. Paul served in the school board for almost 2 years. He resigned early due to frustrations with the board at the time. We had a pleasant conversation about sports and what we think the way ahead should be for our students and classrooms.

I enjoyed talking to Fred. I believe in person was a lot more productive and helpful than maybe his Facebook persona allows. But that’s a nature of Facebook. He had no motivation to come sit with me. He had nothing to promote no business no election just to get his information and viewpoint out.

Karen Stokes spent 12 years on the Rochester school board. We discussed the Annie investigation and the city attorney. We also talked about the Maple st school and the current budget. I really enjoyed this conversation I could have talked for another couple hours.

I got a major upgrade to my podcast with format senator and former ambassador Scott Brown accepted my invitation to have a conversation. We didn’t have much time so I couldn’t get a lot of in depth details about his life. We didn’t talk about his point of view for his run for the senate. We addressed questions about his support of the current president and his stance on the second amendment.

Today I sat and talked with Dillon Guyer. Owner of Guyer Travel. This was the first conversation where I had no clear plan or agenda. We talked about his business, Rochester night out, politics, and his life.

I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to sit and have a conversation with Annie Azarloza the former Rochester, New Hampshire superintendent. We talk a lot about her background and a little bit about the circumstances and situation that surrounded the parting of ways between her and Rochester.

I’m glad Will accepted my offer to sit down and talk in that I understand that that as a conservative Christian pastor he may have felt possibly in hostile territory. However, that cannot be further from the result although we disagree on some things we both agree we have far more in common than what is different.

Sam is the only candidate I think I knew before we talked. And I know when I met him about a year ago we had a good conversation. This was also a very pleasant conversation

I talked with Samantha Smith from Ward 2 this evening. She seems adamant about getting a qualified school superintendent who hopefully can turn around our district. She also has been a very active parent in the school system.

Here’s my conversation with Raymond Wayman. He seemed very knowledgeable and has taken a lot of time to do research on our city and where our money goes.

I have really enjoyed these conversations. This one was with Lisa Kerrigan Carlberg. I gathered they she is most concerned with ensuring that teachers are supported and given the best resources. School board candidate. These are starting to run together for me so I apologize if I repeat myself

This was my second conversation this evening with Samantha Battis school board candidate ward 6 seat A was really great mostly because she talked more than me which is perfect I assume you all are sick of hearing my voice. She is truly passionate about making the schools a safe place for everyone including our students with IEP. She has been an active advocate for years because of her experiences with her son. This was an amazing experience.

Keady Nugent school board ward 2 seat A is passionate about our kids and their future in our city.

This was a pleasant conversation. Although Katherine Anderson is running for school board it didn’t feel like a campaign interview just a good conversation. So far she is the first school board candidate who has decided to sit with me. I feel a little guilty I may have talked to much. But I’m not a professional and I do this on my spare time lol.

This is where I give my scores and endorsements to the candidates.

My last conversation for a while that I’ll post here is with Chuck Grassie. Maybe one of the most experienced of all the politicians that I talked to so far. And politically speaking, we probably stand far apart as any of them as well. However, it was a pleasure talking to him to hear his ideas to listen to what he had to say, and I think he did have some good ideas and a heart for the city of Rochester.Too often, do we see a politician and we see their face on a card or a poster and forget that that is a human that although we disagree with them deserves dignity and respect. Especially as Christians these are literally our neighbors. And it’s OK to disagree to debate to argue. And perhaps if there is a different form, I would do that, but that was not my intention of these conversations. It was to get to know them so I can work with them in the future and know what their ideas might be and help inform my vote.

I sat down this afternoon with Mayoral Candidate Pete Lachapelle. It was a great conversation that I had to have twice because we got about 20 mins in and found I wasn’t recording. lol. He was cool about it and understanding. He has worked on the city council before and has knowledge of how things work. He genuinely loves this city. He encourages us citizens to get involved as much as we can.

Truly a blue collar guy wanting to open transparency in our government systems. He’s independent and wants what’s best for Rochester NH

I sat down and had a talk with Rochester NH Mayoral Candidate Matt Mayberry. He’s very open to talk and desires for economic growth. We talk about homelessness, drugs, the fairgrounds and some other stuff.