It Takes Both; Optimism and Realism

Natalie is on the committee which will recommend to the board; how to involve the community in the decision making process that will determine who will be the next superintendent of the APS.

If you have any interest at all in participating in that discussion, I cannot imagine anyone in this entire town who will be more dedicated or hard working, or who will treat your input with more respect.

She has laid down at least one ground rule;

"It is time to rally together and step forward with positive and constructive information for what we all want and not allow this process to digress into what we don’t like about what we currently have.”

If you want to help fine; if you want to bitch,
bitch somewhere else (my words, not hers).

As much as I "bitch"; I cannot support her decision more whole heartedly. "Bitching" is pretty much an exclusive activity, it is an entirely different kind of energy that is required for problem solving. It is the very reason I have two blogs; one for problem solving and one for the "wet work" of dis-empowering those who oppose solving (certain) problems. You cannot provide for the opportunity to bitch, and reasonably expect to get anything else at all, done.

But we still need realists. We still need someone to point out that "what we have", does not allow stakeholders to play in any but an "advisory" capacity.

Consider the work of the APS Public Safety Committee. They spent months putting together a recommendation for the direction that the School Board should take with respect to fielding a police force.

The last thing four of six board members did was say; thanks for all your hard work and dedication; but it is our call, and our call is to ignore your "advice".

It really would be impossible to give all interested stakeholders a "vote". And no matter what;
the last thing that is going to happen in selecting
the next superintendent, is that seven people,
and seven people only, are going to take a vote.

The part that is missing from APS leadership is any accountability for their vote.

One could argue that if stakeholders are upset enough,
they can vote board members out at the next election,
or recall them now. Realistically, neither of those options really offers anything like honest accountability.

That lack of honest accountability for the leadership of the APS, makes the all of the hard work and dedication that Natalie and others will pour into this project
a crap shoot, at best.

Because they cannot be held accountable for their failure to respect the rights of stakeholders to participate meaningfully in the decision making process; stakeholders are left with only one guarantee that their all of their effort is meaningful.

The only guarantee they have, is the word of individual board members that we can trust them.

Board members like Paula Maes/Modrall
and Robert Lucero.

I will do everything I can to help Natalie and the others.
I will respect the rules. I will not come to meetings to point out the shaky foundation under their work.

In my own space however, I must.
I will continue the effort to build a foundation
for meaningful participation by stakeholders
in decisions that affect their interests;

by providing for honest accountability for the leadership of the APS; including removing from the leadership of the APS; the corrupt and incompetent; by means of an honest administrative accountability audit.