Brooks sidesteps complaint

I found out too late that
APS Supt Winston Brooks
was on KKOB this morning.

I heard only the last caller;
her complaint is common
among community members
who serve their district in
an "advisory" capacity.

She reported that she had served
in the process to solicit community input regarding APS budget cuts. She reported hours and hours of service. She complained that she felt community input was ignored and that, they felt taken advantage of for PR purposes.

Brooks ignored her complaint and defended his budget decisions.
He pointed to conditions that made it impossible for him to do anything other than what he did.

In so doing, he substantiated her complaint; all of the
community input meant nothing in the first place; there were
no decisions for the community to make. The administration
knew before they started, that community input would have
no effect on the final decisions.

It was a colossal feel good exercise.

Mostly it felt good for the leadership of the APS; for those
community members who sacrificed so much for so little,
not so good.

If you think I might be wrong about all this, I would invite you
to ask anyone who has ever served in the capacity of a
community member trying to have input in decision making
affecting their interests in the APS.

They will tell you exactly the same thing; "communications"
between the leadership of the APS and the community is a
sham.




photo Mark Bralley