Public participation in the Haisley parking lot expansion began with a meeting at which the Haisley principal, Mary Anne Jaeger, proposed using funds from the proceeds of a 2004 millage to increase the size of the parking lot. Quite a few people opposed a larger lot, and at the second public meeting, Ms. Jaeger repurposed the lot expansion as a safety issue. Ms. Jaeger had been quite clear in the first meeting that the staff and parents all wanted more parking. She commented on how unfair it was that a teacher who zipped out at noon to get a fast food hamburger might loose their parking spot and have to park on the street one block from their classroom.

It’s a long story and there was a lot of fact twisting by the Haisley administration in support of their desire for more parking. For me, the bottom line was that a school system that faces having to get by on less money has chosen to spend some of their resources on the unnecessary expansion of their parking lot.

There is a lot of parking adjacent to the school and teachers and parents can easily park within one block of the school. The AAPS board had the opportunity to show leadership by supporting a tiny walk versus a larger parking lot. The board decided in favor of cars.

I’ve written to the board several times and no board member has acknowledged their role in this flawed process. I want to support education, but I have difficult supporting the current AAPS board.