What happened?
Proposition 28, passed in the fall of 2022, aims to supplement current funding for arts programs in California public schools. The proposition has led to nearly $1 billion being dispersed across the state, and Fresno Unified receiving $12.8 million in funding.
As students prepare to go back to school, dance teacher Saima Nunez has no classroom to decorate.
Nunez teaches inside the Rutherford B. Gaston Middle School cafeteria, which doubles as a PE classroom for other students on rainy days.
Without mirrors, she says, her neck hurts from craning back to watch her students dance. Dance shoes and costumes are kept by the emergency exit due to lack of storage space.
Dance, music, and visual arts programs have long struggled with funding and support in public schools.
Proposition 28, passed in the fall of 2022, aims to supplement current funding for arts programs in California public schools. The proposition has led to nearly $1 billion being dispersed across the state, and Fresno Unified receiving $12.8 million in funding.
“80% [of Prop 28 money] has to be spent on teachers, and 20% has to be spent on materials and supplies,” said Heather Kuyper-McKeithen, manager of arts education at Fresno Unified School District.
Though the first round of funding arrived in February, 16 schools did not have time to spend it.
“This is not a grant,” said Kuyper-McKeithen. “It doesn’t go away.”
Schools have three years after receiving their funding to spend the money.
Increasingly, though, funding isn’t the problem at Fresno Unified schools..
“Obviously, we’re competing with Central and Clovis and Fowler and Selma and Madera, and we’re all competing for the same teachers,” said Kuyper-McKeithen.
Nunez, who started working with Fresno Unified at Roosevelt High School before joining Gaston, spends part of her time in the cafeteria-turned-classroom and the rest of it helping Kuyper-McKeithen with management and administration of arts education. Nunez has been helping speak to Fresno City College about recruiting and credentialing art teachers.
“We have a cohort of teachers this fall that are on emergency credential in music,” said Kuyper-McKeithen. “They’ll get their internship done through our district with a partnership through Fresno State, and do their student teaching while they’re teaching music.” According to Kuyper-McKeithen and Nunez, Fresno State plans to offer a dance credential 2025, and a theater credential this fall.
Manuel Bonilla, president of the Fresno Teachers Association, voiced concerns about the future of Prop 28 funding in Fresno Unified. “[Prop 28] money should supplement, not supplant,” said Bonilla. “Making sure that districts in their implementation don’t pull away other money and use Prop 28 to supplant.”
One way districts might pull away money would be through waivers, said Bonilla. Bonilla explained that if for some reason not all of the 80% meant to be spent on hiring teachers was deemed necessary, then districts were allowed to apply for a waiver that “essentially allows you to spend it on supplies as opposed to people.”
“When we settled our contract last year, we [settled] we would have a Prop 28 committee that would help settle where that money is going,” said Bonilla.
Kuyper-McKeithen, though, said waivers could not be used to move money willy-nilly. “We have to show in that waiver all of the intentions and steps we took to hire teachers,” said Kuyper-McKeithen. “You can’t just say, ‘I’m not going to hire teachers, I’m going to push it all into materials and supplies.’”
FUSD applied for a waiver last year, and will again this school year. “Because we got the money so late, in February of last [school] year, how are we going to hire teachers?”
The district plans to hire a total of 60 teachers over the next five years– around half of which they have already hired.
“Our goal is five years to have all [60] of those [positions] filled. It’s not about the materials and supplies, it’s about the teacher shortage.”
Slow Rolling in Fresno Unified
The “no facilities rule” means there is currently no permanent solution in sight to Nunez’s lack of a dance studio on Gaston’s campus.
“You can’t buy facilities, and that’s been really hard,” said Kuyper-McKeithen. “We do not have places to put these people.”
There are, however, potential band-aid remedies to help as much as possible.
Pointing at the back wall of the cafeteria’s stage, Nunez mentions she has requested mirrors be installed– a project that she said would total around $8,000 to complete (the request is still pending). It would also mean that Nunez can’t use the stage for at least a day or two. “I would happily take my kids outside for class if I got mirrors the next day,” said Nunez.
School bonds for Fresno Unified School District, which are on the November ballot, could be a potential solution — several years from now, if Measure X and Q pass.
“Part of the teacher’s negotiations [last year] was assuring music teachers that a certain percent will be spent on music classrooms and facilities,” said Kuyper-McKeithen.“I would say that now that we have this money, they need to be art education spaces, period.”
Despite the lack of space, Fresno Unified hired 23 new teachers this year, including eight elementary dance teachers and eight elementary arts integration teachers. Each of the teachers hired at the elementary level will be working at two schools– meaning that around 30 elementary schools will have a reinvigorated art program this school year. It also means that public schools in Fresno that might not be able to afford an art teacher on their own will still have access to arts education.
Kuyper-McKeithen and Nunez both hope and believe that as Fresno Unified schools become more accustomed to the yearly inflow of arts funding, there will be more organization and preparation allowing for the money to flow more smoothly and efficiently.
“This is the most money we’ve ever had for the arts,” said Nunez.
“[Prop 28] is part of California law now,” said Kuyper-McKeithen. “It won’t go away unless another proposition is passed to replace it.”
