REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 02/16/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: City Manager’s Office
SUBJECT:
Title
Consideration of support for Initiative No 21-0036, The Arts and Music in Schools - Funding Guarantee Accountability Act, a state ballot measure to permanently dedicate additional funding to Music & Arts education in California schools.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council will consider supporting a November 2022 state ballot measure that permanently dedicates additional funding to Music & Arts education in California schools without raising taxes. It would provide funding to all Preschool-12 public schools statewide, with an increased allocation to schools that serve low-income students to create more equitable and inclusive access to Music & Arts education.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council express support for Initiative No 21-0036, The Arts and Music in Schools - Funding Guarantee Accountability Act, a November 2022 state ballot measure to permanently dedicate additional funding to Music & Arts education in California.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Public schools are operated primarily by local education agencies (LEAs)-school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, California’s public schools enrolled just over 6 million students from Transitional Kindergarten through grade 12. Roughly 60 percent of public-school students are low-income, as defined by their eligibility to receive a free- or reduced-price meal at school under a federal nutrition program. The State also provides public preschool to some 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families, though funding is not sufficient to serve all eligible children.
The State does not require schools to provide instruction or programming in the arts (such as music) in elementary and middle schools. These programs are funded based on the discretion of local governing boards. In some cases, LEAs hire teachers or other staff to provide arts instruction during the school day. Schools may also provide art education through before and after school as well as part of summer education programs. The state funds two such programs: the After School Education and Safety program ($646 million annually) and the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, a newly created program in FY 22 ($1.8 billion). These programs require an academic and an enrichment component. The enrichment component of both programs may include arts or music.
Proposition 98 (1988) sets aside a minimum amount of state General Fund and local property tax revenue for public schools and community colleges. The size of this allotment depends on several factors, including the number of students attending public schools, growth in the state economy, and General Fund revenues. The state must allocate about 40 percent of General Fund revenue to meet this requirement in most years. Studies have shown that arts & music access in preschool-12 schools can be linked to a lower drop-out rate, increased cognitive devolvement, increased mental well-being and resilience, and more inclined to pursue a career.
ANALYSIS:
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (Fender) is helping spearhead a ballot initiative for this November to bring statewide music and arts education funding to every California K-12 public school. Fender is working to advance music and arts initiatives and support equity and inclusion among our lower-income communities. Fender’s past and ongoing partnerships include the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) where 10,000 students have received access to instruments and music and arts education. As part of the City’s Manufacturing Assistance Program last October, Fender partnered with the City of Corona and the Corona-Norco Unified School District (CNUSD) to provide 500+ students with the virtual “Careers in Manufacturing” event where students obtained career advice and guidance directly from Fender’s executive team. Fender plans to build upon the partnership with CNUSD with a focus on music and arts education. Additionally, it is planning a community wide event in mid-February to garner support for the ballot initiative. Fender has requested the City’s support with promoting the event and a quote from the Council acknowledging Fender’s contributions to building inclusivity for lower-income students in Corona.
The Music and Arts Education ballot measure would provide additional funding for arts education in schools. Beginning in FY 2024, the measure would require the state to provide additional funding to increase arts instruction and programming in schools. The amount provided each year would be equivalent to 1 percent of the total Proposition 98 funding provided to K-12 schools in the prior year. This funding would be considered a supplementary payment above the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee provided to schools and community colleges.
Funding would be distributed based on a formula. The measure allocates the additional funding to LEAs through a formula based on prior-year enrollment in public preschool and Transitional Kindergarten through grade 12. Of the total amount, seventy (70) percent would be distributed to LEAs based on their share of statewide enrollment. The remaining 30 percent would be distributed based on each LEA’s share of low-income students statewide. LEAs may set aside up to 1 percent of their funding for administrative expenses, while the remainder must be distributed to all school sites within the LEA based on the amount of funding generated by its student enrollment.
The ballot measure would also require that funding be primarily used to hire new arts staff. The measure requires LEAs to use the funding for arts education programs and to certify that these funds are spent to supplement existing funding for arts education programs. This may include a variety of disciplines within the arts, including dance, media arts, music, theatre, and various types of visual arts. The measure also requires LEAs with more than 500 students to spend at least 80 percent of additional funding on hiring staff. The remaining funding could be used for training, supplies and materials, and arts educational partnership programs. Under the measure, the California Department of Education (CDE) would have the discretion to waive the spending requirements for a school site upon written request from the school principal that shows good cause for a waiver. Schools will have three years to expend the funding they receive. CDE would reallocate any unused funds to all LEAs in the following year.
School Principals are given some discretion in determining how funds are spent. The measure requires the principal of a school site or preschool program director to develop an expenditure plan for the funding. The principal or program director would have the discretion to determine how to expand a site’s arts and music programs, including pooling funds with other schools to develop joint programs and share staff. LEAs will be required to report out on their programs annually.
The ballot measure is backed by a growing coalition of educators, entrepreneurs, community organizations, and arts and music leaders and celebrities
More information on the ballot measure can be found at Californians for Arts and Music Education in Public Schools | Increase Arts and Music Education in California Public Schools (caforartseducation.org) <https://caforartseducation.org/>.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No financial impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the action is not subject to CEQA. This action is to support the Arts and Music in Schools - Funding Guarantee Accountability Act, and there is no possibility that approval of the report will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: DENZEL MAXWELL, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: ROGER BRADLEY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER