Arts advocates mobilize to fight proposed L.A. Unified budget cuts

A proposal to slash arts teachers from elementary schools in the L.A. Unified School District has stoked community anger and fomented a grass-roots movement to fight the cuts.

Facing a budgetary shortfall of nearly $470 million in the upcoming 2010-11 school year, LAUSD is considering reductions across the board that include cutting 50% of the district's arts specialists who teach a specific cultural subject, like music or dance, in elementary schools.

The move would result in an estimated savings of $14.9 million for the 2010-11 year.

The proposal recommends eliminating the remaining arts specialists in the following school year, resulting in savings of another $14.9 million.

The figures come from a December budget proposal from the district titled "Fiscal Stabilization Plans" that has been circulating on the Internet. The LAUSD board is said to be seriously considering the proposal, though it will probably review others like it before making a decision in late May or June.

Currently, the LAUSD provides a music teacher to elementary schools for at least one day per week for the entire year, according to the document. It also provides instruction in dance, theater or the visual arts on a regular basis.

There are an estimated 350 of these specialized arts instructors teaching in LAUSD elementary schools, said Arts for L.A., a local advocacy group.

Arts for L.A. is leading a grass-roots effort to halt the proposed cuts. The group is organizing a letter-writing campaign in which they hope to send 700 letters to LAUSD board members. It is also seeking the support of major L.A. museums and performing arts institutions to adopt a resolution to send to the board.

"We understand the enormity of the budgetary situation but the arts is important to a complete education. In order for our students to compete in the workforce, they need arts education," said Danielle Brazell, executive director of the group.

"Any time you have a core program and take it apart, the chances are slim that it will come back."

The LAUSD has been gradually whittling away its arts education programs. In late 2008, the board suspended the Arts Community Partnership Network, which brought professional arts groups into the schools to collaborate on instruction.

An online petition organized by LAUSD elementary arts teachers was launched in November to protest the most recent round of proposed cuts. The petition has so far accumulated more than 1,500 signatures.

-- David Ng

Credit: Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Danielle Brazell]

1 in 6 jobs is directly related to the creative economy - one of the largest business sectors in our region. Arts Education prepares students to participate and succeed in our local workforce.

Lets make sure every student has access to a complete education.

[Donald Frazell]

Inner-City Arts is an excellent example of what must be done for at least the foreseeable future, there wont be any public monies for years to come for the arts. Time and monies msut be donoated to open childrens lives to greater possibilities, not necesarily for art as career, but to stimualte young minds into new ways of seeing, not limited by circumstances.

The arts themselves, with such a huge proportion of jobs in LA, must step up and fund for their own survival, and nto rely on a public that has survival concerns to deal with for the next few years. So far, fundraisers like Modern Art Notes have been rather pitiful, a couple of thousand bucks doesnt do much for the needs of hundreds of thousands right here in LA. time to step it up, and walk the talk.

art collegia delenda est
art is of life, for us, not the art scenes culture of privilege and entitlement

[Anthony]

A decidedly elite perspective from a group that does not represent the interests of the minority majority. I wish I could agree with the premise that the arts are that critical -- and I'm involved in the arts. The argument does not resonate with most parents. Art teachers maybe. I'd prefer to see the basics funded; math, the sciences, literature and reading. Further I want my tax money supporting general social services. Those are more critically needed. I do see some rationale for commercial art education and fine art/studio or art history at the college level.

[Cami Hayes]

The children who need the arts the most are not "elite" or wealthy: Arts education makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has been proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries.

Arts education has a measurable impact on at-risk youth in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy problems while also increasing overall academic performance among those youth engaged in after school and summer arts programs targeted toward delinquency prevention.
Arts ed in schools increases test scores across every subject area, lowers drop out rates and helps close the achievement gap regardless of socio-economic status. These facts are demonstrated across many reports, including those done by the US Department of Justice in 1996.

Furthermore, denying every student access to core curriculum-- and arts are core curriculum in the state of California-- prevents them from applying to many schools, including the UC system, that require an arts credit.

Arts education is also crucial to 21st century workforce development, especially in Los Angeles. Far from being of concern to only "elite" white liberals, 93% of American consider the arts to be vital to providing a well-rounded education for children and a critical link to learning and success (2005 Harris Poll). 85 percent of surveyed business executives indicated that they are currently having difficulty recruiting individuals who possess creative ability with demand for creative people expected to grow as firms pursue innovation. Creativity/innovation rates among the top five skills sought by US employers (Youth ARTS Development Project, 1996, U.S. Department of Justice; Arts Education Partnership, CAAE).

As far as funding their own survival, according to this year's Otis Report on the Creative Economies, the creative economy of California brings in more than $5.1 billion in state tax revenues and nearly $121 billion in sales/receipts in Los Angeles County alone. Compare that to the very limited funding received by the arts (just under $3 million for the city of Los Angeles, or $.74 per capita in arts-related spending), and the true discrepancy between the economic impact of arts & culture and public support. The arts have been "stepping up" and "walking the talk" for many years.

[Stephanie]

Children without access to the fundamentals of an arts education will not be prepared for the opportunities that higher education and a creative economy has to offer. In addition, elementary arts programs are crucial to molding young brains to think critically and learn more efficiently. There are countless examples.

[Mark Slavkin]

LAUSD has been a national leaders as they have rebuilt arts education programs over the past ten years. In spite of the pressures to "narrow" the curriculum and focus only on high stakes tests, LAUSD has made sure the arts are part of the core curriculum, especially for elementary students. Their cadre of 350 arts specialist teachers in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts have been the foundation of this effort. Los Angeles has come too far to let this invaluable investment slip away. Now, more than ever, our students need to cultivate the skills of creativty and imagination to be successful in school and in life.

[Donald Frazell]

Those taxes dont come from the arts, who get tones of tax exempt status and investmnents in zones like downtown, that are wastes of our monies. Those monies come from the movie studios and computer industry, far more is spent on arts than gathered, from operas to orchestras to museums to wasted grants to useless individual artistes, who dont reflect our state, only the tiny communities of like minded entitlement brats they live in.

No, there are very few creative outlets for kids, Inner-City Arts being one of the very few. Most just make the artistes involved feel better about themselves, with no commitment, sacrifice or effort. Giving to WeHo doesnt count, or any other artsy area, that comes right back to the givers living and social status.

everything has been cut, sports are practically non existent, most HSs the parents have to give money to support the equiptment or transportation for CIF, except the few like my school LB Poly which are shoe sponsored, Mater Dei, Compton Dominguez and a few others like Westchester and Fairfax have the top atheletes trained for college, and so get donations.

In the meantime, regular kids are getting fat or never developed any physical structure for health, artistes included. Being skinny isnt healthy, muscle mass and lung capacity and heart strength is. Makes for more energy and clearer mind, and much more well rounded approach to life. Balanced eating too, vegans are terribly undernourished, as bad as those who eat only at McDs, or what the teenager love much more, Jack in the Box or In and Out. Everything has been cut, artists need to step up, there is NO money, and wont be for some time.

Like I said, look at Tyler's MAN site, $2k over a months long fundraising, wow. Thats gonna help. I gave far more taking kids in and feeding them on the way to games and back in a year than that. I know many adults who ahve done so in sports, thsoe iin teh inner city epend on the very few who can schedulte their time to help out, wiht a few scaveengers giving them a bad name like Rodney Guillory. Artists overall have been cheap and lazy, get out there, help with time and really work, not mouthing inanities.

art collegia delenda est

[William Wray]

Art is what got me through school. If not for art classes I'd be a high school drop out. I've made a productive living in commercial art and fine art. If not for art class, I'd probably be a dead former drug dealer. Not everyone was made for science and business.

[Chris Mannal]

As one of the theatre teachers who would be cut under this plan, let me tell you a personal story. The week before Christmas I taught a class using the Christmas song 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'. While performing the song on stage, I chose a random student to be Rudolph. As the students performed the song in tableaux (a french term which means a frozen, living picture), the student who was chosen to be Rudolph demonstrated incredible emotion, with no words, as the story told of how Rudolph was teased and then elated when chosen by Santa to be the lead reindeer. After class, the classroom teacher pulled me aside and told me I managed to accomplish something that she hadn't been able to with this student playing Rudolph. She told me that the student who was Rudolph has Aspergers Syndrome and my class had helped him come out of his shell. This is what arts education does for students -- it helps them excel!

[Rebecca Borden]

Do the math.
Research from the Center for Arts Education in New York found that schools in the top third in graduation rates offered their students the most access to arts education and the most resources that support arts education.
The higher average attendance rate, the more money a school gets.
This finding has been repeated several times over.
Why? The arts keep students in school.

[Kristen Engebretsen]

Everyone is hurting from the recession, but it is times like these that we, as a society, should take a hard look at our priorities and values. All children deserve a quality education comprised of access to core curriculum and an environment that allows children to be healthy, happy, productive individuals. This means that we need to fund schools properly! We shouldn't be arguing over which pieces of education (math, arts, nutrition, sports) should stay...they all should! It's time that we insist that our elected officials (school board members, city officials, and state legislature) take action to put education in its rightful place at the top of our piority list both in value and funding.

[Donald Frazell]

Stop complaining, and do something constructive. The only way the schools can get more money is to raise taxes, period. Get behind a movement to do so, and beat down the Howard Jarvis selfish types. We have the money, its there, tax it. But in a recession we cant too quickly, we have to hold the fort. The Bush tax cuts will die this year, and need to get revenue without stupid ballot measures and bonds. That is not what bonds are for. Be honest for a change, the left lies a much as the right. Honesty will actually win the middle, stop being scared wabbits.

Grow up, but first we must balance our checkbook, thats what adults do.

art collegia delenda est