Pictured above: Sidney Hopson (percussionist), former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, and Naomi Sato (music prep) at the kickoff event for the Vote Arts and Music campaign.
At the campaign kickoff for the Vote Arts and Music California ballot measure at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles on April 26, 2022, former LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner, AFM Local 47 member Will.i.am, parents, teachers, Hollywood trade unions, and long list of celebrities and supporters rallied together to raise awareness about increasing funding for arts and education in California public schools.
The initiative petition garnered more than 1 million signatures in three months with the support of volunteers from across the state, well in excess of the 623,200 valid signatures needed to qualify for the November 2022 California ballot.
The initiative has garnered support from top Hollywood entertainers including AFM Local 47 members Linda Ronstadt, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Lili Haydn, Starr Parodi, and new-age ensemble Opium Moon. Several entertainment industry unions are also on board, including SAG-AFTRA, Actors Equity and the California branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
Click here to join the movement!
If approved by a majority of voters this fall, the measure would allocate $800 million to $1 billion per year to arts and music education in K-12 schools.
One of the goals of the initiative is to help diversify the ranks of the entertainment industry, which remains disproportionately white. The funding formula for the money would be tilted toward low-income districts.
The signature verification process is expected to be completed in July. To qualify for the ballot, the initiative must have 623,200 valid signatures. The money would be allocated out of the state’s general fund, and would be on top of the minimum school funding thresholds set by Proposition 98. The measure would not raise taxes.
Read the full text of the measure here.
