TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Southern Arizona schools will be sharing part of a $10 million arts grant from the state.

That money will cover costs that teachers often end up paying out of their own pockets.

A band like the one at Doolen Middle School requires more than instruments.

It also requires sheet music and instrument parts, just like visual arts requires a variety of materials from paper to paints. News of grants to cover these costs in the classroom hit a high note with teachers.

On Thursday, a visual arts class at Dietz K-8 had fifth grader Evelyn Toth making papel amate, which is Mexican folk art of creating bark paper and painting on it.

“I colored these the certain way I wanted,” said fifth-grade student Evelyn Toth.

“It’s all about experimenting and exposure,” said Yubitza McCombs, visual arts teacher for Opening Minds through the Arts, known as OMA, at Deitz K-8 School in Tucson Unified School District.

She said that she has seen kindergartners grasp abstract concepts.

“‘What is abstract art for you?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s when something real and fake are put together.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, yes,’” she recalled.

Materials like sheet music and instrument parts cost money.

“Sometimes I’ve supplemented with some of my own things I’ve had at home. I try not to,” said Doolen Middle School band teacher Neal Romberg.

“Studying the arts and performance and painting and so on makes them much better appreciators of the arts that are available to them,” said Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.

Horne announced $10 million for district and charter schools to cover art consumables, up to $1000 per teacher.

“It becomes a challenge, so, you know, if we were awarded this grant, that would change that up a lot and we could even start thinking about, like, murals,” McCombs said.

From murals to music, TUSD alone has 150 teachers trying to cover and orchestrate passion and learning for more students.

“Whenever I’m doing like music in school it makes me more like wanting to do school more,” said sixth-grade Doolen band student Felicity Lord, who plays the flute.

The grants will be first come, first served but will also be done in three phases to give smaller schools a better shot at getting money.

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