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Eli Broad, Ovation TV’s Charles Segars lend a hand to LAUSD arts education campaign

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The campaign to save arts education in LAUSD elementary schools has received a significant injection of name-brand muscle.

[Updated] Arts for LA, an advocacy group that organizes community support for arts education in the school district, said that Eli Broad has been named an honorary chair of the Campaign to Save Arts Education in LAUSD.

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Charles Segars, chief executive of Ovation TV, has assumed the title of chair for the campaign.

In addition, arts advocate Maria Bell has been named to an honorary chair position for the campaign. Bell serves as a co-chair of the board of trustees for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

In his new role, Segars will serve as the public spokesperson for the campaign. He will help Arts for LA to recruit cultural leaders to serve on the campaign’s steering committee and to work with local business leaders on behalf of the organization.

The Campaign to Save Arts Education in LAUSD was created in response to a recent LAUSD budget proposal that would eliminate 50% of elementary arts teachers for the 2010-11 school year.

In a statement, Segars said he’s read ‘far too many studies on the extraordinary benefits of arts education on students’ overall ability to learn and succeed in school, as well as in life, to let our arts education program get kicked to the curb.’

Ovation TV is a specialty television channel that provides arts and cultural programming to its subscribers.

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In December, the LAUSD published a series of proposed budget cuts, which include eliminating half of the district’s arts specialists who teach a specific cultural subject, such as music or dance, in elementary schools. The move would result in an estimated savings of $14.9 million for the 2010-11 year.

-- David Ng

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