Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Arts And Culture topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Merced Union HSD details Prop 28 arts and music site plans and spending rules
Summary
District staff outlined how Prop 28 funds and baseline allocations will be distributed to high-school site programs; the plan emphasizes that funds must supplement— not supplant—prior-year spending and that site principals decide program allocations.
District staff presented how Merced Union High School District will deploy Arts and Music School (AMS) funds under Proposition 28 at the Aug. 28 board meeting.
The presentation explained that for districts receiving more than $500 in AMS funds, at least 80% of Prop 28 dollars must be used for personnel. The district allocates funds to sites rather than running a separate district-level arts program; principals work with program leads to determine how allocations are spent. Staff noted that the state audit guide requires districts to certify that Prop 28 funds "supplement not supplant" baseline arts spending—meaning the district must spend at least the same amount on arts instruction as the prior year before using Prop 28 dollars to expand services.
High-school programming counted under the plan includes visual and performing arts and computing courses that meet UC 'F' (visual and performing arts) requirements; the district added culinary and cosmetology sections to the F-category after UC approval. Staff described the administrative complexity of sustaining one-time or unusually large expenditures (for example, an expensive trip) because any increase in baseline spending becomes the new required baseline going forward.
Site-level allocations and the number of sections supported by Prop 28 and baseline funds were reviewed for each campus. Staff recommended board approval of the 2025–26 site plans; trustees voted to approve the plans unanimously.
No public comments were raised during the hearing on instructional-material sufficiency tied to other agenda items.
