Torrance Unified lays out Prop 28 arts plan; students and parents urge priority for existing programs

Torrance Unified School District officials presented a districtwide plan to use Arts and Music in Schools (AMS) funds approved under Proposition 28 to expand arts instruction across TK–12, telling the board the district received its first apportionment for the 2023–24 year in March.

Dr. Egan, senior director for secondary education, and Dr. Sheila Rema, a lead on the district arts team, told the board the district expects roughly $2.9 million in AMS funding annually (the amount varies with enrollment and specific student populations) and that state rules require districts to spend allocated AMS funds within three years. They emphasized a program approach built from four years of strategic planning and two task forces that surveyed students and teachers and produced a gap analysis of current arts access across grade levels.

The presentation highlighted key constraints district staff must follow: at least 80% of site-allocated AMS dollars must be used for employees who work directly with students (staffing), and up to 20% may be used for materials, other expenses or contracted services. Staff noted a waiver mechanism exists for the 80/20 split but said the state’s waiver guidance was still emerging. Dr. Rema summarized the district aim as creating "a comprehensive Visual and Performing Arts program with equal access to Arts instruction for all students across all sites and grade levels," and said staff have begun site-level planning templates and stakeholder engagement to shape how each school will use its allocation.

Students, teachers and parents filled the boardroom and an overflow room to urge elected members to use AMS funds primarily to shore up existing programs that have been under-resourced. "These are all opportunities for enrichment that the students gathered here today ... are no doubt eager to equitably benefit from," said Bella Chow, a West High junior who represents students in band and theater. Parents and community speakers gave examples of programs forced to rely on fundraising for basics such as busing, uniforms and instrument repairs and asked that new media or technology offerings not crowd out core band, choir, theater and dance needs.

Pat Fury, president of the Torrance Education Foundation, said recent local fundraising events returned substantial support to schools and encouraged the board to consider how additional AMS allocations and local grants can work together. Board members asked for clarification about which AMS offerings will be electives versus A–G/UC-authorized courses, how the district will define and document maintenance-of-effort (what services the district already provides that it must sustain), and how to handle the long-term staffing commitments that accompany new positions.

District staff said some immediate steps already taken include hiring four elementary music teachers and adding several middle-school electives this year; they also noted the district has applied for career-education grants that can fund equipment and materials even when the AMS funding rules limit personnel coverage. Dr. Egan said the district intends to return to the board with a formal authorization request for a detailed plan after schools complete site-level templates and stakeholder engagement.

What comes next: school sites will develop and submit AMS site plans describing who they engaged and how the funds will be used. The district will analyze those plans and — if necessary — consider a waiver request to the state for alternative distributions. Staff cautioned that the state’s audit rules on maintenance of effort are still being clarified and that the district will proceed "slow to go fast" to avoid missteps.

Sources and provenance: presentation and Q&A beginning with the district presentation (transcript SEG 381) through extended public comment and board questioning (transcript SEG 2188–3163).