Q&A@HS#9

by smf for 4LAKidsNews

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - Yestereve, at Central Los Angeles High School #9, otherwise known as The High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, there was a Community Forum, sponsored by the school's PTA/PTSA in formation. It was billed as a Meet-and-Greet The New Principal, Luis Lopez - and The New Local District Superintendent, Dr. Dale Vigil - and a Q&A about the recent transfer and replacement of last year's principal, Suzanne Blake. The meeting was chaired pretty darn well by acting PTSA President Judi Bell. There were histrionics and name calling but no furniture or fruit was tossed and the angry multitudes did not resort to barricades.  School Police were not called.

It would be nice to say a fine time was had by all ...and it would be completely untrue. I doubt if anyone had a good time or a a good day - with the possible exceptions of those spectacularly absent.

One can often judge a meeting by those not in attendance. School Board President Mónica García , seen by many as the behind-the-scenes manipulator of the ouster; Superintendent Ramon Garcia - whose promise to Blake and her staff that she would be back next year was reversed. And Principal Blake, the aggrieved party ...unless you count the students, faculty, staff, parents and school community. And believe me, they consider themselves uncounted.

Seeing as García, Cortines and Blake weren’t there there they were subjects of most of the questioning.

There was one recurring question, asked over and over, re-parsed, rephrased - made hypothetical and deconstructed ad infinitum. It is the question posed in this week’s AALA newsletter. It is The Big Question, asked and not answered:

Q:Why was Ms. Blake removed and replaced?

And the answer offered by Dr. Vigil:

A:For personnel reasons that I am not a liberty to disclose to protect District employees.

He himself called it a wall: "I've put up a wall." A wall of silence. Of obfuscation. All in all, just another brick. That wall.

This much was disclosed:

• By personnel he means personnel, not personal.

• Ms. Blake has not been informed of the transgressions, actions or lack thereof  that triggered her ouster; she will be notified in due course.

• Whatever occurred or didn't occur does not approach criminal activity; this removal should not be considered disciplinary. It is administrative. Or perhaps: administrival.

• Superintendent Cortines was not aware of the allegations when he spoke to Blake and her staff, he has since been informed.

• The alleged mistakes/error/procedural missteps were uncovered by Virgil himself in his first few days in the job, based on interviews, staff reports and data he reviewed - all confidential.

• As far as Vigil is concerned his decision is final and irreversible. Blake will not be back at HS#9.No way, no how.

• Because this is a personnel matter the reasons will probably never be disclosed.

As to the protocol of the Pilot School Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) - which gives the School Site Council a role in administrator selection, -being violated: Vigil stated that because the SSC never approved their by-laws the issue is moot: HS#9 does not have and never had a functioning SSC!

Of those questioned, new principal Luis Lopez came off best. He defended his tenure at Franklin High School and that school itself and pointed out that he has an arts background in dance - is a credentialed math teacher - and has experience administering at high achieving schools like Bravo Medical Magnet and at schools with challenges: Manual Arts and Franklin.

In fairness, Dr. Vigil acquitted himself admirably - he was constantly under attack from an overwhelmingly hostile audience; made all the more so by their questions being unanswered.

Suzanne Blake was universally praised and praised again, by teachers, by students, by parents. "Ms. Blake believed in us more than we believed in ourselves". "Ms. Blake came down and ate lunch with us" ― the first year was "a raging success".

But that said - there are questions besides the The Big Question - some asked and some not - that deserve an answer.

1. There are allegations of strings being pulled and back room deals being made. What was the role of Board President Mónica García in this matter …and was it appropriate?

2. Ditto for Mayor Tony and Eli Broad – both of whom were instrumental in the MOU.

3. Ms. Blake's transfer out was obviously involuntary; was Mr. Lopez' transfer from Franklin voluntary?

4. Did any of this contribute the Superintendent Cortines decision to retire before his contract is up?

5. If the SSC did not exist what is the legal status of their decision-making over the past year? Isn't the failure to constitute a SSC the responsibility of the LAUSD Parent Community Services Branch? Was last year like that 'Bobby's Dream' season of Dallas?

And finally: When Ms. Blake's' transfer was first announced the reason given was that she lacked High School experience, indeed she was initially reassigned to a Middle School. The rationale now given is this undisclosed/undisclosable personnel matter.

And, gentle readers, if you've read this far let me take you out on an editorial limb - in a direction I feel drawn uncomfortably and inescapably - with two questions and a bit of irony drawn from the McCarthy Era.

• What did Dale Vigil, Ray Cortines, and Mónica García know and do ...and when did they know or do it?

• How exactly is a secret list: "I have here a list of X communists" different from a secret accusation, "I have a personnel matter I cannot disclose"?

• The school play next year at LA Central High School#9, The Visual and Performing Arts High School is Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

So, does Eli Broad save HS#9 with a charter school? ...or do the parents and staff?

SIGN THE PETITION: Maintain the Integrity of the Arts Instructional Programs of LAUSD + traduccion en español

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View Current Signatures   -   Sign the Petition

(Para una traduccion en español, por favor consulte: http://lausdartsed.blogspot.com/, 12/3/09)

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To:  Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Members: Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, Monica Garcia, Tamar Galatzan, Richard Vladovic, Yolie Flores, Nury Martinez, Steve Zimmer; Superintendent Of Schools, Ramon C. Cortines

Background:

On February 9, 1998, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education unanimously adopted a Resolution to Restore Arts Education as an essential part of the core curriculum for all students. In 1999, the Board adopted the Arts Education Plan, which ensures comprehensive, quality education in Dance, Music, Theater and Visual Arts by providing resources necessary to implement arts programs to every child, K-12.

Since that time, articulated arts programs have been established across the District from elementary to secondary serving as a powerful factor in motivating student interest in school. Through the implementation of the Elementary Arts Program, which was expanded in the 2009-2010 school year to include all elementary schools, over 3 million elementary students have received arts instruction by highly-qualified arts educators. LAUSD is the only large urban district in the United States that provides an equitable standards-based arts education for all of its elementary students by giving them the opportunity to experience all of the four arts disciplines through the Elementary Arts Program.

Yet in June of 2009, after ten years of growth and restoration of arts education, the LAUSD Board of Education passed a three-year budget that includes a 50% cut to the Elementary Arts Program for the 2010-2011 school year, and the elimination of the entire Program for 2011-2012. Superintendent Ramon Cortines and Board of Education Members have demonstrated support for the District Arts Programs in the past but are now faced with difficult budget decisions.

Full Petition Text:

We can't afford to cut Arts Education for our children and the children of the future!!!

• We have come too far as a District - not only in restoring arts education, but in becoming a nationally recognized leader in arts education - to step back now.
• Arts are a primary, central, academic core subject that must be funded as consistently as math, language arts, science and history/social science.
• The proposed cuts to the Elementary Arts Program will have deep ramifications to arts programs at the secondary level, resulting in displaced teachers and leaving students less prepared for arts instruction in middle and high school.
• We do not think it reasonable for LAUSD students and employees to shoulder the entire responsibility for our statewide budget deficits with salary
• reductions, staff reductions and cuts to vital instructional programs and support services. We must all share the obligation of the education of our children.
• We advocate that non-essential, non-school based services, and any non-instructional program be considered for cuts prior to approving any reductions to instructional programs, including the Elementary Arts Program.
• We advocate that the LAUSD Education Foundation (501(c)(3) non-profit) be utilized to help support and preserve the integrity of the Elementary Arts Program.
• We advocate for statewide and local legislative changes, including local parcel taxes, in order to create more sustainable and locally controlled funding sources for education.
• We as concerned citizens, in endorsing the principles and proposals set forth above, are holding Superintendent Cortines and the Board of Education to their commitment to arts education, and to the consistent funding of LAUSD Arts Education Programs now and into the future."

This petition was written by LAUSD Elementary Arts Teachers, November 2009

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

View Current Signatures

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The Maintain the Integrity of the Arts Instructional Programs of LAUSD Petition to Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Members: Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, Monica Garcia, Tamar Galatzan, Richard Vladovic, Yolie Flores, Nury Martinez, Steve Zimmer; Superintendent Of Schools, Ramon C. Cortines was created by and written by Ginger Fox and Michael Blasi, Chair and Co-Chair of the Elementary Arts Committee, United Teachers Los Angeles (blasikin@gmail.com). 

This petition is hosted at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

tags: arts ed arts education dance drama LAUSD music Theater theatre visual arts

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[Budget] compromising past promises/Compromising the future: NEW BUDGET RULES LOOSEN UP SCHOOL FUNDING + LAUSD BOARD INFORMATIVE ON CATEGORICAL FLEX

By Laurel Rosenhall and Robert Faturechi | The Sacramento Bee

Published: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009

Summer school. Art and music. Classes for gifted children.

Buying textbooks. Training math and English teachers. Tutoring students for the high school exit exam.

For decades, a large portion of California's school funding has been strictly designated for such categories.

Not any more.

In the budget deal crafted last week, the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger combined many of the pots of money known as "categoricals." The result is that for the next five years, principals and district administrators will have more spending flexibility than they've had in recent history.

It's a move education reformers have been pushing for years, saying a bit more freedom with the checkbook would help schools meet their students' needs.

The new state budget cuts about $2.4 billion from schools this year and changes the payment terms of another $5 billion. The reductions get even deeper next year, when schools will face an additional cut of $400 million.

About $1 billion of the cuts will be taken out of categorical funding – which makes up one-third of the money California spends on education and funds more than 60 individual education programs.

Categorical funding became popular in the 1960s as politicians tried to help disadvantaged children by spending money specifically on them and ensuring the additional cash didn't wind up in teachers' paychecks, according to a new report by UC Berkeley's law school.

As categoricals proliferated over time, however, they created a bureaucratic web of obligations for educators, who couldn't target funds where they were needed most. Money for buying new technology couldn't be used to buy books for a library. Money for checking kids' teeth couldn't be spent on counseling. Money for training principals couldn't be used to train a teacher.

"Principals said they spent a God-awful amount of their time filling out compliance forms," said Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley education professor who surveyed principals for a recent study.

"They've got to keep receipts, keep billing information. … Principals become mini-bureaucrats rather than working with teachers and being in classrooms."

The findings led him to recommend – in the massive "Getting Down to Facts" report Schwarzenegger released with fanfare in March 2007 – that the state consolidate categorical funding.

And that is just what the new plan does. It collapses 42 categorical programs into one block of money, and trims it by about 15 percent, or $1 billion. Schools can now use that money for any purpose.

"They could do less on school safety and more on career tech," said Jennifer Kuhn, director of K-12 education with the Legislative Analyst's Office. "They can do less counseling and have smaller class sizes. They can do less adult ed and more K-12 ed."

Or, she said, they can skip spending on those programs and give teachers a raise.

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COMPROMISING PAST PROMISES/COMPROMISING THE FUTURE: Under the "Budget Compromise" reached in Sacramento, Schools can now use money from these categorical programs for any purpose: [smf: "for any purpose" is somewhat misleading - see Informative (following)]
• Summer school/supplemental instruction

• Regional Occupational Centers and Programs

• High school counseling

• Specialized secondary programs

• Immediate intervention/underperforming and high achieving/improving schools programs

• Gifted and talented education (GATE)

• Mathematics and reading professional development

• Principal training program

• American Indian Early Childhood Education Program

• California Indian education centers

• Adult education

• Education technology

• Deferred maintenance

• Instructional materials

• Community day schools program

• Bilingual teacher training program

• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification Incentive Program

• California School Age Families Education Program

• California High School Exit Exam

• Center for Civic Education

• Teacher dismissal apportionments

• Charter schools

• School safety

• Class size reduction, grade nine

• International baccalaureate diploma program

• California Association of Student Councils

• Pupil Retention Block Grant

• Teacher Credentialing Block Grant

• Professional Development Block Grant

• Targeted Instructional Improvement Block Grants

• Library Improvement Block Grant

• School Safety Consolidated Competitive Grant

• Physical Education Block Grant

• Arts and Music Block Grant

• County Office of Education Williams Audits

• Certificated Staff Mentoring Program

• Oral Health Assessments

• Commission on Teacher Credentialing

Schools must continue to pay for these programs with categorical funding:

• Child Development

• Child Nutrition

• Economic Impact Aid

• Special Education

• Home-to-School Transportation

• After School Education & Safety

• Class Size Reduction, kindergarten – third grade

• Quality Education Investment Act

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The plan has the potential to revolutionize school funding in California, said Michael Kirst, a Stanford education professor and former state Board of Education president.

But it doesn't do away with categorical funding altogether. About 20 categorical programs remain intact, including some of the biggest – special education and K-3 class-size reduction.

Because the restrictions on many of the biggest categorical programs have not been eased, the new flexibility won't help cash-strapped districts very much, said David Gordon, Sacramento County's superintendent of schools.

The changes might have been more useful during a time of surplus, he said. But without money, flexibility is of little use.

"To me it's more like, 'Do you cut your arm off or your hand off?' " Gordon said. "We have a bare-bones program already going in. That basic core – the reading, the math and so on – is something you can't trade off."

Other educators said the eased restrictions will give them some welcome wiggle room.

Patrick Godwin, superintendent of Folsom Cordova Unified, expects the relaxed rules will allow his district to avoid painful staff cuts.

"The district here already had a strong music and arts program," Godwin said. "So we'll be able to use those monies to keep more counselors or keep more electives in the high schools."

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The following is from an LAUSD Office Of Government Relations informative to the Bd of Ed & Superintendent dated February 19, 2009

SUBJECT: STATE BUDGET APPROVED WITH MAJOR REDUCTIONS TO EDUCATION CATEGORICAL PROGRAMS

Determining the Categorical Program Reductions

Categorical programs are being funded on the basis of three tiers, with the funding for Tier 1 being the most protected. In 2008-09, the Tier 2 and 3 categorical programs are cut by 15 percent or $944 million. In 2009-10, Tiers 2 and 3 are cut by an additional 4.9 percent or $268 million. Page | 2

1. Tier 1 – No reductions and no flexibility options on the use of these dedicated funds (there are flexibility options within the Class Size Reduction program itself, which are described later). The following are the protected programs in this tier:

Budget Item	Title
Tier 1
6110-161-0001	Special Education
6110-196-0001	Child Development
6110-234-0001	K-3 Class Size Reduction
6110-128-0001	Economic Impact Aid (EIA)
6110-649-0001	After School Programs
6110-601-3116	Home-to-School Transportation
6110-203-0001	Child Nutrition
Quality Education Improvement Act (QEIA)
6110-130-0001	Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)

2. Tier 2 – 15 percent reduction in 2008-09, and an additional 4.9% reduction in 2009-10. There are no flexibility options with these programs.

Budget Item	Title
Tier 2
6110-113-0001	Student Assessment Testing
6110-224-0001	Year Round Schools
6110-125-0001	English Learner Student Assistance
6110-220-0001	Charter School Facility Grant Program
6110-166-0001	Partnership Academies
6110-103-0001	Apprentice Program
6110-119-0001	Foster Youth Programs
6110-158-0001	Adults in Correctional Facilities
6110-182-0001	K-12 Internet Access
6110-167-0001	Agricultural Vocational Education

3. Tier 3 – 15 percent reduction in 2008-09 and an additional 4.9 percent reduction in 2009-10. For these programs, there is complete flexibility for a district to use these funds as it wishes.

Budget Item	Title
Tier 3
6110-246-0001	Targeted Instructional Improvement Block Grant (TIIG)
6110-156-0001	Adult Education
6110-105-0001	Regional Occupational Centers and Programs
6110-247-0001	School and Library Improvement Block Grant
6110-104-0001	Supplemental Instruction
6110-189-0001	Instructional Materials
6110-188-0001	Deferred Maintenance
6110-245-0001	Professional Development Block Grant Program
6110-108-0001	Supplemental School Counseling Program
6110-211-0001	Charter School Categorical Block Grant
6110-244-0001	Teacher Credentialing Block Grant
6110-123-0001	High Priority Schools Grant Program
6110-265-0001	Arts and Music Block Grant
6110-232-0001	Class Size Reduction - 9th Grade
6110-228-0001	School Safety Block Grant (8-12)
6110-243-0001	Pupil Retention Block Grant Program
6110-204-0001	CA High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)-Support and Services
6110-198-0001	CA School Age Families Education
6110-137-0001	Math and Reading Professional Development
6110-124-0001	Gifted and Talented
6110-190-0001	Community Day Schools
6110-227-0001	Community -Based English Tutoring Program
6110-260-0001	PE Teacher Incentive Program
6110-193-0001	Peer Assistance and Review
6110-248-0001	School Safety Competitive Grants
6110-107-0001	County Offices of Education - Fiscal Oversight
6110-267-0001	Certificated Staff Mentoring
6110-266-0001	County Office of Education - Williams Audits
6110-122-0001	Specialized Secondary Program Grants
6100-144-0001	Principal Training Program
6110-151-0001	American Indian Education Centers
6110-268-0001	Child Oral Health Assessments
6110-195-0001	National Board Certification Incentives
6110-240-0001	Advanced Placement Programs
6110-193-0001	Bilingual Teacher Training
6110-150-0001	American Indian Early Childhood Education Centers
6110-193-0001	Reader Services for the Blind
6110-208-0001	Civic Education
6110-209-0001	Teacher Dismissal Apportionment
6110-242-0001	CA Association of Student Councils
6110-123-0001	Sanctions
6110-144-0001	Chief Business Officers Training Program
6360-101-0001	Local Assistance - Commission on Teacher Credentialing

Additional Flexibility Options

1. School districts now have the option of increasing the K-3 Class-Size Reduction (CSR) Program from the present 20:1 restriction without completely losing this specific categorical program funding. Districts would be subject to the following penalties with these new flexibility options:

Class Size Penalty

20.5 to 21.5 (less than) 5 percent

21.5 to 22.5 (less than) 10 percent

22.5 to 23.0 (less than) 15 percent

23.0 to 25.0 (less than) 20 percent

25 or over 30 percent

2. Deferred Maintenance: The .5 percent statutory match for deferred maintenance would be eliminated for the period of 2008-09 to 2012-13.

3. Routine Maintenance Reserve: The requirement for a 3 percent reserve for routine maintenance would be reduced to 1 percent for the period of 2008-09 to 2012-13.

4. Transfer of Categorical Program Balances: The District would have the authority to transfer the 2008-09 categorical balances for any educational purposes, except for balances in the following programs:

Special Education

QEIA

EIA

TIIG

Instructional Materials

CAHSEE

Supplemental Instruction

Transportation

Program Elimination

The High Priority Program is eliminated in 2009-10.

STATE BUDGET WOES COULD LEAD TO SHORTER SCHOOL YEAR

January 12, 2009 12:37 PM ET | Eddy Ramírez

Facing a massive budget deficit, California is considering shortening the school year by five days, a move that would save the state $1.1 billion. But the proposal is causing uproar among families and educators, who say the consequences would be disastrous, the Los Angeles Times reports. State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell told the paper the move would hurt low-income and minority children because affluent school districts will most likely have the funds to remain open all 180 days of the school year. If the California legislature agrees to cut the school calendar, the state will join North Dakota, Kentucky, and a few other states that require the least number of school days.

Much of the criticism is being directed at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who proposed the idea. It bears noting that the governor sends his children to private school. His office says the idea to shorten the school year has received support from school districts that don't want to resort to more painful measures such as employee layoffs and cuts to arts and music programs. But school districts that are facing severe shortfalls in the state say it's not an either-or scenario. The Los Angeles Unified School District, for example, recently announced it is examining the possibility of laying off 2,300 instructors in an attempt to close a $400 million deficit in next year's budget.

American students already spend far less time in school than children in countries such as China and India. Shortening the school week, by even five days, critics say, would undermine efforts by educators to make American teenagers more competitive. Last year, U.S. News wrote about a film titled "Two Million Minutes" that raises concerns about U.S. public education and whether American students spend enough time in school. Tell us what you think. Should states facing budget woes shorten the school year? Is it better than eliminating arts and music programs?

from the Downtown News:: READY FOR A MEGA YEAR: School is in Session + LEADERS OF THE PACK: Monica Garcia

In the fall, the $232 million High School for the Visual and Performing Arts will open. LAUSD officials still have to hire a staff and decide who will be able to attend the state-of-the-art facility. Photo by Gary Leonard.

from Ready for a Mega Year  by Anna Scott

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - One of the biggest stories of 2009 will be the economy, and some of the signature projects Downtown Los Angeles has long awaited - the Grand Avenue plan, Park Fifth, etc. - are in question. Yet, despite the fears and uncertainties, the community this year will see the debut of several mega-developments, ones that began construction during the boom cycle and that have the power to continue to help transform the area. From skyscrapers that will house more stakeholders to an underground transit line that will make commuting into the Central City easier, these projects will all have a major impact on the people who live, work and visit Downtown.

School Is in Session: Jan 5 - The Los Angeles Unified School District's $232 million, 1,700-seat High School for the Visual and Performing Arts will open for classes this fall. The 238,000-square-foot campus at 450 N. Grand Ave. includes a 950-seat auditorium and 140-foot tower; the eye-catching (some say audacious) project is designed by Austrian firm Coop Himelb(l)au. The school will feature music, dance, visual arts and performing arts academies. However, with only months until it opens, a few key issues have not been decided, such as how much of the student body will come from outside Downtown, and whether the school will be enveloped by the LAUSD, or if it will have some charter-like independence.

 

from Leaders of the Pack by Jon Regardie: Elected Officials Who Will Be at the Center of Things in 2009

Fresh off her ouster of former LAUSD Supt. David Brewer, school board President Monica Garcia has put herself in a position of power. Photo by Gary Leonard.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - In the grand scheme of things, with scheme being the operative word, the political scene in 2008 in Downtown was pretty quiet. The scandals were less fantastic than in previous years, the local elections were a far second in terms of excitement to the vote for president, and the city's rock star politician, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was on good behavior as he worked hard to bounce back from a disastrous 2007.          Will it be more of the same in 2009? Hard to tell at this point. We expect there will be some surprises (there always are), but for right now, expect the five figures below to be the ones to spur movement in Downtown Los Angeles

Monica Garcia: Jan 5 - The president of the school board last year led the effort to get rid of Superintendent David Brewer. It came off clunky, but the key is, she got him out and her guy in, and in politics, results are what matters. Garcia has the ear of Villaraigosa (though some say she's just doing his bidding) and she sits at the head of a school board where her side has the majority. With billons coming to the LAUSD after voters approved a school bond proposition last year, Garcia has power and is ready to use it.

LAUSD SUSPENDS KEY ARTS PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS

Covered here and here (and  here) previously, this story becomes real as it’s covered in The Times.

Jason Song and Alicia Lozano, Los Angeles Times

December 29, 2009 --LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles school district has suspended a key arts program because of a spending freeze, a sign of what may be ahead for the state's largest district, which is facing a serious budget shortfall.

When the school board was forced to slash almost $400 million from this year's budget because the district received less than expected in state funds, it kept most of the cuts away from classrooms. But now the district may have to cut another $400 million, which could mean increasing class sizes, laying off teachers or providing fewer meals at schools.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials have even offered a $300 bonus to employees who take a survey to gauge interest in an early retirement program, which could save the district money in future years by reducing payroll and spreading out retirement payments.

L.A. Unified officials also instituted a spending freeze, which resulted in the abrupt postponement of the arts program. In a Dec. 12 e-mail, district administrators told arts instructors with the Arts Community Partnership Network to cancel all work immediately and that payments might be delayed, though work could begin again next month if the state resolves its budget crisis.

"We are all waiting for the state budget in January . . . and hoping for the best," said Richard Burrows, L.A. Unified's director of arts education.

Districts throughout the state are also making drastic cuts, said state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who warned that eliminating arts and after-school-program funding could have dire consequences.

"We have to keep these students involved and engaged," he said. "Schools need to be more of the hub of the community, not less."

The Los Angeles arts partnership has been in place for six years and had a budget of about $8 million this year. The 80 participating groups include the Music Center and the Center Theatre Group.

None of the district's music teachers will be fired because of the freeze, but some of their programs might be affected, district officials said. The arts partnership spends $2.2 million on an instrument repair shop that services about 35,000 instruments a year.

"This doesn't just affect arts education, it affects the entire district," said Danielle Brazell, executive director of Arts for L.A., an arts education organization that oversees the arts network.

For smaller arts providers, the delay could be disastrous. The 24th Street Theatre, which has served 111 schools by taking students to shows and providing teacher training, was counting on receiving about $300,000 from the district, about half of its operating budget.

The group received only a fifth of that before the freeze was instituted, said Jay McAdams, the theater's executive director.

"It's a body blow," McAdams said, adding that he might have to lay off his three employees or even close the theater if the spending freeze continues.

Making the situation worse, McAdams said, he can't turn to charitable foundations for funding because of the economic downturn.

"It's like you call the fire department and all the engines are on fire," McAdams said.

Teachers and supporters have decried the loss of the programs. Some have started an on-line petition to pressure the district to restore the funds. Before Christmas, the group had gathered 417 signatures and had a goal of 1,000.

Alejandra Sinjay, a second grade teacher at the Bridge Street School near downtown, has been taking her students to the 24th Street Theatre for almost five years. Before going to see a show, her students take workshops so they are "not just sitting around not understanding what's going on," Sinjay said.

"It's the most well-spent Saturday there is," she said.

Others are worried that if enough small arts groups have to close their doors or lay off staff, it will be difficult to restart the arts program when the district again has enough funding.

"You can't say 'go play for a few years and then come back when we're ready', " said Mark Slavkin, the Music Center's vice president for education. "It takes years to build infrastructure."

District officials declined to discuss that possibility.

"I don't want to go there," Burrows said.

KPCC: LAUSD Cuts Arts Funding + UCLA education think tank sides with activists, draws criticism

LAUSD Cuts Arts Funding

12/29/2008

AirTalk

The Los Angeles Unified School District has suspended an arts partnership as part of a spending freeze. AirTalk guest host David Lazarus talks about the likely impact with Los Angeles Times Staff writer Jason Song and Arts for LA Executive Director Danielle Brazell.
[ Listen ]

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12/29/2008

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

After two decades at UCLA, renowned education professor Jeannie Oakes has left for a higher-profile job. She'll be in charge of education grantmaking at the Ford Foundation in New York City. Part of her legacy at UCLA is an eight-year-old education think tank that's offered scholarly reinforcement to education activist groups in their efforts to improve public schools. KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

ARTS GROUPS TRY TO RALLY SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL FUNDING + ARTS FREEZE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

LA TIMES CULTURE MONSTER BLOG

Quick links: ART | ARCHITECTURE | CLASSICAL MUSIC | THEATER | DANCE | OPERA

3:41 PM, December 22, 2008

Los Angeles schoolchildren learning drama from a professional actor or ballet from a skilled dancer might lose their teachers next semester if the Los Angeles Unified School District continues to freeze funding for programs employing outside contractors. District officials say the freeze will hold at least until the California Legislature reconvenes in mid-January.

This crunch is especially felt by the 80 organizations comprising the Arts Community Partnership Network, which aren’t being paid and whose absence will greatly limit arts programming throughout the district.

Though standard art and music classes taught by LAUSD teachers are scheduled to continue uninterrupted, students will miss the opportunity to learn from working professionals.

ACPN-run programs go beyond the typical hour spent memorizing Shakespeare. The music arm of ACPN alone spends $2.2 million on an instrument repair shop that services roughly 35,000 instruments a year. These instruments are used by the 190 elementary school orchestras and 200 middle and high school ensembles throughout the district.

“This doesn’t just affect arts education; it affects the entire district,” said Danielle Brazell, executive director of Arts for L.A., an arts education organization that oversees ACPN. “It’s very important to acknowledge and understand that our students need quality education regardless of state or district budgets.”

The spending freeze, which ACPN learned about via e-mail on Dec. 12, affects the entire school district, not simply the arts programs. With the state deficit growing and funding uncertain, officials were forced to weigh the immediate needs of students against programs it thought were expendable, said Megan Reilly, chief financial officer for LAUSD. Learning to paint lost out to supplying ink for printers, she said.

More after the jump...

For small organizations such as the 24th Street Theatre, a production and education center downtown that counts funny man Jack Black among its alums, the freeze threatens to halt operations. More than half of the theater’s revenue comes from its $308,000 contract with the school district, which is meant to reach 11,000 students during the academic year. Because the majority of classes are held in the spring semester, the freeze could prevent as many as 9,000 children from taking classes with professional actors and spending a day frolicking through the theater.

Big contractors such as the Music Center downtown are not worried about shutting down, but they do lament that without enough funding, Los Angeles’ thriving artistic community could be weakened.
“Our concern is that small organizations and artists who have been relying on these funds don’t have a backup plan, and if they don’t get paid, they’re in a pretty difficult situation,” said Mark Slavkin, vice president of education at the Music Center.

Unable to supplement their incomes, some artists might move out of Los Angeles or, even worse, switch trades just to pay their bills, Slavkin suggested.

“Even if things get better, artists might not want to work with the LAUSD again,” he said.
In a frantic rush to secure funding for spring, the ACPN is urging arts-minded people to sign petitions and contact school officials. The 24th Street Theatre is hoping that comedian Black can recruit other celebrities to join the cause and use their fame to push arts programming in Los Angeles.

District officials warn that despite community concerns, the freeze will continue until they receive word about funding from the state, which might not be until late in the semester.

--Alicia Lozano

Photo: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Stage Raw: ARTS FREEZE FOR THE HOLIDAYSby Steven Leigh Morris | LAWEEKLY LA DAILY BLOG/Stage Raw

December 22, 2008 12:00 PM

In a cost-cutting measure, the Los Angeles Unified School District has frozen district funds until the state legislature returns to Sacramento in January to sort out the State budget gridlock. Arts for L.A. has been quick to point out that the freeze includes existing contracts for the Arts Community Partners Network (ACPN).

Arts Community Partners Network is a project that allows the LAUSD to subcontract professional artists to come into public schools, either for on-site performances or workshops with the children, from dance to music to theater. The symbiosis for all participating organizations is obvious: the arts enrich the education, the education helps build a new generation of artists and arts patrons.

"Payments for work incurred have been delayed and future payments have been frozen for an unknown period of time," reports ACPN, which also describes the "ripple effect" throughout LAUSD, after all services were ordered frozen on December 12.

Over 80 individual artists and arts organizations throughout the city are affected.

Arts for L.A. is urging a campaign to release those arts funds and allow the contracts to be honored, and the program to continue. For more information, visit their website.