Thank you! With your help, the surveys were a success!

Thanks to the hard work of members of our Local Advocacy Network, and our partners at the Alameda County Arts Commission, Art is Education, Arts for LA, Arts Orange County, Burbank Arts for All, the California Arts Council and the California State PTA, candidates in a total of 91 districts and races participated, initiating a conversation with these leaders about the importance of arts education. 

Please join us in thanking the candidates who responded to the survey. Use the attached template letter and visit the Secretary of State website to find out who won in your district and how to contact them.  The surveys are only a first step in building relationships with elected officials who decide what programs are funded in our schools! 

Why and How We Survey School Board Candidates

Why? 

Decisions about funding for academic programs are increasingly being made at the local level. District school boards determine the extent to which students have access to arts education. In preparation for this November’s election, voters deserve to know where school board candidates stand on the role of arts education in our schools.

In response, the California Alliance for Arts Education launched the Candidate Survey Project, which invites school board candidates to answer questions about policy and funding as well as their personal experience with the arts. 

How?

For the November Election, the California Alliance forged partnerships that helped us reach more districts than in previous years. With the help of the Alameda County Arts Commission, Arts for LA, Arts Orange County, Arts is Education, Burbank Arts for All, the California Arts Council, the California State PTA, California Arts Advocates, Californians for the Arts as well as members of our Local Advocacy Network, candidates in districts all over the state were invited to participate in the survey. Candidates in over sixty California races responded. 

New partnerships also broadened the focus of our survey to include questions about the creative economy and community development. California Arts Advocates joined the project by surveying candidates running for the State Assembly and Senate.

Even with the help of a broad coalition of organizations and on the ground organizers, we could not survey every district in California. If you don’t see your listed, email us to find out how you can survey candidates in your community next time around. There were also districts where we surveyed candidates but received no response, including Berryessa, Chula Vista, Eastside, Evergreen, Lakeside, Lammersville, Livermore, Morgan Hill, San Benito, Soquel and Watsonville. 

What can you do to help?

You can help us by sharing the survey with your networks and friends. Visit our project promotions page, which offers templates for blogs, stage and elevator speeches, flyers and logos. 

You can also visit our campaign on Facebook or Twitter and share one of our posts.