$77 Million at Stake: A Willful Law Violation? (Image Credits: Nypost.com)
Los Angeles — Former Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent Austin Beutner delivered a sharp rebuke to current leader Alberto Carvalho, accusing him of deliberately diverting $77 million in state arts education funds meant for hiring new teachers.[1][2]
$77 Million at Stake: A Willful Law Violation?
Beutner claimed Carvalho willfully and knowingly violated state law by using the funds to plug holes in the district’s $19 billion budget rather than expanding arts programs. He described the action as not only illegal but profoundly wrong.
“This is not only a clear violation of the law passed by more than 7 million voters, it’s morally bankrupt because it deprives hundreds of thousands of students in LA schools the benefits they would receive by participating in arts and music at school,” Beutner wrote in the letter sent to the district on Monday.[1] Currently, only one in five LAUSD schools employs an arts teacher, despite the district receiving about $200 per student annually from these funds.[1]
Proposition 28: Voters’ Mandate for Arts Expansion
California voters approved Proposition 28 in 2022, allocating roughly $1 billion statewide each year exclusively for arts and music education in K-12 schools. The measure, which Beutner helped author, required districts to hire additional staff and certify that funds supplement, rather than replace, existing arts spending.[1][3]…