This recent SF Examiner article offers snapshot of how schools in San Francisco and all over California rely on a "fraying patchwork of grants, programs and donations” for arts education. Some districts rely almost entirely on parent fundraising to maintain these programs, while schools in lower-income communities go without. San Francisco’s situation reflects conditions that exist across the state according to Mark Slavkin, chairman of the California Alliance for Arts Education, “The northeastern states are spending twice as much on education as California,” Slavkin said. “What these states take for granted, like dedicated art and music teachers, is something of a luxury in California.” Read more.