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LA Phil Peninsula committee donates $10,000 to district music programs amid budget pressures
Summary
The LA Philharmonic Peninsula committee presented $10,000 to Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified to support intermediate and high school music programs. Donors urged community attendance at upcoming fundraisers, and district leaders reiterated support for music despite looming budget cuts.
The Peninsula committee for the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented a $10,000 donation to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District at the Jan. 22 board meeting to support secondary music programs.
Diana Chulin, introduced by Dr. Serrano as youth music chair for the Peninsula chapter of the LA Phil, said the committee is donating $2,000 to each intermediate school and each high school instrumental program for the 2024–25 academic year, plus mini‑grants for elementary music specialists and secondary teachers. She invited the community to the committee’s Music in the Garden fundraiser on April 26 at South Coast Botanic Garden.
Ellen Perkins, who spoke after Chulin, recalled past board service and stressed the fragility of arts funding amid an expected $2.2–$3.9 million budget reduction for the district next year. Perkins and Chulin emphasized that while test scores favor English, math and science for some funding decisions, music provides intrinsic benefits to students that are harder to quantify.
Dr. Serrano thanked the LA Phil Peninsula committee and clarified that music and the arts were not part of current reduction plans discussed during the board’s budget study session; staff were directed to preserve programs that directly impact students where possible.
What happens next: funds will be distributed to designated school music programs and staff will continue budget planning to minimize impacts on arts programming.
