“The State of Florida has been roundly condemned for cuts to its already thin arts budget,” writes Nicholas Beard in Wednesday’s (6/28) MusicalAmerica.com (subscription required). “In a coruscating commentary in the Orlando Sentinel, Scott Maxwell puts the State’s spending on arts and culture in context, saying it is already miniscule … Maxwell writes, ‘Despite passing a record-high budget, legislators gutted funding for Cultural Affairs—which helps support theaters, museums, and school programs throughout the state. Tourism got full funding for advertising. Prison spending went up. So did the budget for the governor’s office. But the budget for Cultural Affairs was cut by a third—from $50 to $33 million … as part of an $82 billion budget.’ … Florida is not alone. On May 30, Delaware’s Joint Finance Committee voted to cut state arts grant funding by $550,000, an almost 20% cut … Writing for DelawareOnline, Guillermina Gonzalez, executive director of the Delaware Arts Alliance, says the cut is counter-productive: ‘A $550,000 cut could jeopardize a sector of the economy that currently generates more than $10 million in local and state revenue, representing a 3-to-1 return on investment.’ ”
Posted June 28, 2017
