Reed Union arts specialist asks Tiburon Heritage & Arts Commission for school–town partnerships
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Summary
Abby O'Leary, Reed Union School District's new VAPA TOSA funded by Prop 28, asked the commission to host student art shows, invite visiting artists into classrooms and provide a commissioner to the district arts task force meeting on Nov. 12.
Abby O'Leary, Reed Union School District's newly installed visual and performing arts teacher on special assignment (VAPA TOSA), pitched a partnership with the Town of Tiburon's Heritage & Arts Commission at the commission's Oct. 28 meeting.
O'Leary said the VAPA TOSA position is funded through California's Proposition 28, passed in 2022, which directed new funding to bolster arts education. "Prop 28 was passed in 2022, which is funding to bolster the arts in every single school district in California," she told commissioners, describing four work areas including arts integration, enrichment, community partnerships and an arts task force.
O'Leary asked the commission to consider hosting student exhibitions at Town Hall, helping place student work in local businesses and supplying at least one commissioner to participate in a new arts task force that will meet three times this year. She said the first task-force meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., and invited commissioners to sign up via a QR code she distributed.
Commissioners responded with willingness to help. Several commissioners recalled prior student exhibitions in Town Hall before the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed options including private tours, an open-house visit to schools and rotating student exhibits. Chair Arjun Gupta noted the commission can assist with scheduling and publicity, and staff signaled they could coordinate timing with school calendars.
Next steps: commissioners agreed to consider participating in the Nov. 12 arts-task-force meeting and to follow up on potential student shows and visiting-artist collaborations. O'Leary left contact information and an online sign-up form for commissioners interested in joining the task force.
The commission's next regular meeting is set for Dec. 2, 2025, where staff and commissioners said they would revisit calendar implications for any proposed school–town collaborations.
