Mary Ellen Garcia, the district director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, presented Fillmore Unified’s site-by-site plans for Proposition 28 arts funding during the June 3 board meeting.

Garcia said state guidance requires that roughly 80% of each site's Proposition 28 allocation be used for certificated or classified employees to provide arts instruction. Sites gathered community and school input through surveys and meetings before developing expenditure plans. "Each site developed their own Proposition 28 expenditure plans," Garcia told the board.

Under the plans presented: preschool sites will bring in seasonal music and arts practitioners for limited weekly instruction; elementary schools will pool funds by cohorts to support two shared elementary VAPA (visual and performing arts) wheel teachers — Piru and Rio Vista as one cohort and San Cayetano and Mountain Vista as another; Fillmore Middle School is already funding a video production teacher who serves about 152 students and helps build a CTE pathway with the high school; Fillmore High School plans to use its allocation for a choir/instrumental music teacher to strengthen articulation with middle school strings and choir; Sierra High School intends to fund an art period for returning teachers; and Heritage Valley Independent Study will use seasonal practitioners to provide enrichment experiences.

Garcia said sites considered music, visual arts, digital arts, coding, theater and dance when choosing focus areas. The board asked no substantive questions during the presentation; Garcia noted that site teams had solicited input from parents and staff and that plans were aligned to the guidance and local needs.

No formal vote was taken on the plans at the meeting; Garcia framed the presentation as an update and described how the sites arrived at staffing-focused plans that emphasize instruction by certificated or classified employees.