Are CA schools diverting arts education money?

A celebrity was in the house for the state Senate’s floor session Thursday: Hollywood actor Danny Glover, as “an advocate for the arts,” according to Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino of Glendale, who introduced him. Glover’s visit comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes to slash $22.5 million in state arts funding in his latest budget plan (which Democratic legislative leaders want to mostly restore).

But as some advocates are seeking more arts funding, others are calling for more oversight on money already set aside for the arts — in public schools. 

As CalMatters K-12 education reporter Carolyn Jones explains, in 2022 voters passed Proposition 28, which earmarked $1 billion a year to expand arts education, including visual arts, theater, dance and music. The money is distributed partly based on students’ economic needs. 

But a coalition of nearly 100 arts groups says that some school districts may be misusing the money to pay for existing positions and programs. At the time Prop. 28 passed, barely 1 in 5 schools employed a full-time art or music teacher. 

But others, such as Modoc Joint Unified School District, are struggling to spend their Prop. 28 money due to their existing robust arts programs.

Tom O’Malley, Modoc Joint Unified superintendent: “Right now, the money is just sitting there, which is very frustrating when we have all these other needs.” 

A spokesperson for the state Department of Education said an independent auditor is expected to review Prop. 28 spending, and that the department takes “any misuse of state funds very seriously.”

Read more about Prop. 28 spending, read Carolyn’s story.

More on education funding: Jacqueline Munis of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network explores an underutilized program that aims to give California families a head start on paying for college. 

Established in 2022, the California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program, or CalKIDS, offers newborns and some first grade students a tax-free college savings account. Babies born between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 receive $25, and those born after July 1, 2023 receive $100. Low-income first graders receive a one-time deposit of $500; those in foster care or who are unhoused receive more.

While nearly 3.7 million students and 667,000 newborns have money invested in these accounts, most CalKIDS funds remain unused: As of March, only 6.3% of newborn accounts and 7.4% of student accounts have been claimed, despite social media, email and direct mail awareness campaigns.

Learn more about CalKIDS and see if your child is eligible in Jacqueline’s story.

The Assembly budget committee on Thursday passed a joint proposal that Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly released Wednesday — voting along party lines with 18 Democrats in approval, and four Republicans voting “no.” Drawing a large crowd that snaked around the committee room, the hearing weighed the legislative counterproposal to Gov. Newsom’s plan to cover the remaining $28 billion shortfall.

Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat and chairperson of the committee, at the hearing: “We recognize in these times the people of California expect government to tighten its belt and balance the budget just like families do every month. And that’s what our Legislative budget does.”

The proposal — which rejects some of the major spending reductions that Newsom calls for — has drawn support from advocacy groups, including some public health, anti-poverty and workers’ rights organizations.

But the budget is far from a done deal. Legislative leaders will negotiate with the Newsom team. Last year, the final agreement wasn’t announced until June 27, just days before the new budget takes effect on July 1. 

In other legislative news:

Lawmaker rebuked: Assemblymember Bill Essayli posted on social media Thursday a letter showing he has been removed from the judiciary committee by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. Last week, the Riverside Republican accused Democrats of “protecting pedophiles” for not allowing a floor vote of his bill that would require police to cooperate with immigration authorities when arresting someone who has been convicted of a sexual crime against a minor. Rivas’ director of communications, Nick Miller, said that the “Speaker feels a personal responsibility to improve safety for all Californians, including those who serve, and there is zero tolerance for disinformation assaults against his colleagues, which can do real harm to members and their families.” To learn more about Essayli, read my interview with him.

Oil wells: An Assembly bill to hold oil and gas companies liable for respiratory illnesses and other health harms suffered by residents who live nearby oil facilities was shelved Thursday, all but killing it for this session. Noting that it was “politically difficult to move bills addressing the oil industry,” Assemblymember Laura Friedman, a Burbank Democrat and author of the measure, said she is looking for opportunities to press the issue in the Senate.

Tortilla flour: A bill that would require corn masa flour makers to add folic acid — which research has shown can prevent birth defects when taken during the early weeks of pregnancy — is in the Senate health committee after unanimously passing the Assembly in April. CalMatters health reporter Ana B. Ibarra and producer Robert Meeks have a video edition of this story, part of our new partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here. SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal and is available online at PBS SoCal and CalMatters. Read more about this new venture from our engagement team.

From CalMatters’ Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff: 

Information about California legislators’ property holdings will remain publicly accessible for now following pushback to a proposal that would have expanded redactions on their annual financial disclosures.

Assembly Bill 1170 was amended this week to remove a provision shielding the addresses of real property interests and businesses included in online versions of the statement of economic interest, known as Form 700, that elected officials and some public employees in California are required to complete each year.

Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, the Anaheim Democrat who is carrying the bill, previously told CalMatters that it was a safety measure as elected officials face rising threats. He deleted the property holdings provision after discussions with transparency advocates and a CalMatters story from January, a spokesperson wrote in an email.

AB 1170, which passed the Assembly in January and was referred to a Senate committee this week, would still block filers’ “private information, including, but not limited to” signatures, personal addresses and telephone numbers on copies of the Form 700 posted to the internet.

But Sean McMorris, transparency, ethics and accountability program manager for California Common Cause, said it was important to know what real property and business interests politicians own so the public can evaluate potential conflicts of interest.

McMorris, in an email: “When addressing the privacy concerns of elected officials, we cannot throw the baby out with the bath water.”

As the bill continues to move through the legislative process, his group will lobby Valencia to remove the “but not limited to” language as well, which McMorris said is a “possible loophole” to shield property holdings anyway.

Speaking of transparency: Why would it cost “billions” for California prisons to comply with new indoor heat rules? CalMatters filed public records requests to find out. But on Thursday, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation joined the Department of Finance in rejecting our appeals. 

Kayla Ronzone, the correction department’s public records coordinator, wrote to CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang that it can still withhold cost estimates even though the agency has already made public statements revealing that the heat rule would be more expensive than estimated, because those statements only point out the prior estimate was incorrect. 

The actual cost estimates can be withheld, Ronzone wrote, because they are “based entirely on policy, procedural, infrastructure, and staffing decisions that CDCR would have to make in the event that the not yet finalized regulations are adopted.”

First, the state Public Utilities Commission reduced payments to homeowners with rooftop solar, slashing that industry. Thursday, it looked at cutting the value of community solar projects, again at the behest of big utilities. Find out what happened from CalMatters environment reporter Julie Cart.