A group of Placer Union High School District arts teachers pressed the governing board on November 16 to make Prop 28 spending more transparent and to protect the programmatic intent of the funds.

"These funds are restricted state allocation that must add new capacity to our VAPA programs," said Dave Lawrence, who spoke to the board during the public comment period. "They cannot replace what was happening before." Teachers and administrators asked the district to publish a quarterly public ledger showing incoming Prop 28 dollars, expenditures by category (salaries, materials, operations) and carryover balances.

Kya Perkins, an art teacher at Placer, emphasized fidelity to the Visual and Performing Arts standards. "The funds must exclusively be applied to activities that fall under that visual and performing arts standards," she said, urging the board to avoid any deviation that could be interpreted as supplanting. Red Johnson, another Placer arts teacher, urged a detailed line‑item budget to verify compliance and avoid the risk of losing state funds.

Speakers recommended creating a formal VAPA advisory committee that includes parents and at least 50% VAPA teachers with authority to review quarterly spending reports and approve plans for carryover funds. Rachel Cottingham suggested an earmarking policy so carryover dollars are automatically designated for multiyear arts capital projects such as instruments or theater lighting instead of being absorbed by general operations.

Board members thanked the speakers and declined to discuss the matter during public comment to avoid a Brown Act violation. Trustee Jeffries said the district supports transparency and thanked teachers for engaging. No formal policy change was adopted at the meeting; the board signaled interest in adding transparency measures to its dashboard and asked staff to bring related materials forward at a future meeting.

The board did not take further action on Prop 28 at the Nov. 16 meeting; teachers asked for a public accounting and an advisory process that would allow the district and community to track compliance with the state‑level intent of the funding.

What’s next: District staff indicated dashboard improvements are already planned and could be leveraged to display Prop 28 allocations and expenditures; teachers recommended an explicit quarterly public ledger and a standing VAPA advisory committee to review spending and carryover plans.