On March 29, 2024, Los Angeles Schools’ Superintendent Austin Beutner called for state intervention to end the alleged misuse of voter-approved funding for the development of arts education in California. The superintendent was backed by the California Teachers Association, the largest teachers union in the state, and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), another statewide teachers union.
The letter to Gavin Newsom and other state officials was also signed by the Local 99 of Service Employees International Union, the United Teachers Los Angeles, Teamsters Local 572, and the teachers union for Oakland Unified. In the letter, Beutner and the unions alleged that funding which was approved by voters in November of 2022 for the expansion of arts education was being taken by other school districts to use for different purposes.
“It’s clear that Californians overwhelmingly want more arts and music in public schools,” the letter states. “It has come to our attention, however, that some school districts in California are willfully violating the law by using the new funds provided by Prop 28 to replace existing spending for arts education at schools.”
Unfortunate Neglect for Arts Programs
In 2024, the funding allocated for the arts totals $938 million. Under Proposition 28, this money can only be used to increase arts programs in schools, though each school can decide how to best improve their programs. The schools and districts allegedly in violation of this rule are not mentioned by the letter, as Beutner has expressed concern that whistleblowers may be the targets of retaliation.
Seeing as Beutner authored Proposition 28 following a departure from L.A. Unified in June of 2021, it has been assumed that they are an offender of this misuse of funding. UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz referred to them in particular, saying: “LAUSD is supplanting Prop. 28. And I can only bet that districts across the state are doing the same thing.”
Proposed Changes
Proposition 28 refers to research stating that public schools “fail to provide a high-quality course of study across arts disciplines,” but no difference will be made if funds are improperly used. As such, Beutner and the unions are calling on the state to require that districts certify within 30 days that no funds have been improperly used.
According to already existing state requirements, schools must annually certify that their spending has been appropriate and must create a clear spending plan, though there are no guidelines for the creation of these plans. Districts seem to lack clarity and have varying interpretations of spending legality, leading to frustration when accounting for where spending is allocated and if this was done properly.
Localized Discrepancies
Audrey Lieberstein, a parent leader in the PTA and the governing councils of Dixie Canyon Elementary in Sherman Oaks, provided school budget documents and copies of correspondence with L.A. Unified to The Times, according to Yahoo!News. She observed that $48,766 had been set aside for a two-day-a-week arts teacher last year, but no such record was made in this year’s budget. She views the situation as a potential example of fund misuse.
As a counter to Lieberstein, L.A. Unified officials claimed that funding has increased across the district beyond the requirements of Provision 28, even funding field trips through the Cultural Arts Passport program.
“If there was a mistake in allocation or interpretation [of the law],” Lieberstein said in an email to the school district, “then perhaps the schools have a chance at getting back their original source of arts funding and having Prop. 28 in addition as the law intended! This would be a big win for our public schools and help instill faith in the district.”
