What community consultation was undertaken by Microsoft prior to deciding to delete Publisher ?

What consultation was undertaken by Microsoft prior to deciding to delete Publisher ? Given that the reason for removing Publisher is the move to "cloud based design tools" and the "move away from printed media" - was any thought or consultation given to schools? community groups?

As a teacher I am very impressed with the wealth of accessibility and functionality options available in Microsoft Immersive Reader, and our team has been recommending this and other programs/ widgets etc ( WINKEY + CTL + L for live captions at any time is GENIUS!). However - schools still use printed material - ALL the time. Particularly in special education - we make communication resources, visual schedules using Publisher ALL THE TIME. There is no substitute that works so quickly and efficiently as Publisher. I can insert a photo, text box, arrow etc. all with a quick cut+copy+ paste/ drag and drop action and have a visual made in minutes; or adapt and existing one. There is no such equivalent in Word - inserting an image to locate it precisely where I want on the page takes at least 5-6 extra steps for EACH image/ text box/ symbol, it is soooo tedious and takes precious time we teachers simply do not have!

I make resources in Publisher, then save them as a pdf to send to a school. However I still keep the original so that I can quickly adapt and individualise it for each school/classroom/student ( I work across many schools, supporting close to 50 students). Canva and similar online options are fine for making " pretty" things such as birthday cards and wedding invitations - but NOT for educational/communication resources - there is a vast difference between " pretty" vs. functional and accessible. I would have expected the Microsoft Accessibility division to understand this.

Power point is only in landscape not portrait, and has so many rulers/guides already pre set; it is NOT an option to use for educational resources that need to be printed.

I do not use pre set templates as my resources are individualised. We also need to consider accessibility for our students - selecting particular fonts, spacing, clear layouts etc. - and to consider the limited time that teachers, therapists and educational support staff have to make resources, faffing about with Power Point and Word is simply too time consuming, when the result will be no where near as good. Likewise it will now take a HUGE amount of time to find all Publisher resources and save them in another format. I have resources I might only use once or twice a year as I need them for a particular situation, so might not be able to access them past October.

Also - in terms of accessibility, there are a HUGE number of older people - often retired - who volunteer hours of their time producing newsletters, calendars, schedules, rosters etc. - on existing templates they have created, all using Publisher. By removing Publisher you are dismissing the vital work of these volunteers, and the importance of small, local community groups which provide face to face human connection for so many people, in this world of ever increasing disconnection.