originally published in the Lawrence Journal-World
November 10, 2015
Topeka — The leader of a statewide
advocacy group warned Tuesday that Kansas is likely to lose its federal
arts dollars again early next year because the state isn’t providing
enough funding for arts programs under Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s
administration. But a Department of Commerce spokesman said it is working on
partnerships with other state agencies to show the National Endowment
for the Arts that Kansas’ commitment to arts projects is strong enough
to qualify for federal dollars.
Henry Schwaller, chairman of Kansas Citizens for the Arts, said he
expects the NEA to withhold about $591,000 it had planned to send the
state during its current fiscal year, which began in July. An NEA
official told state officials in a September letter that the Kansas
Creative Arts Industries Commission was almost $225,000 short under the
current budget of the state funding “match” needed to qualify for
federal dollars. The NEA’s letter told the state it must close the gap by Jan. 15 —
four days after the GOP-dominated Legislature convenes its next annual
session. The commission is part of the state Department of Commerce, and
Schwaller said he’s not expecting it or Brownback’s office to find the
additional funds.
“The impact is going to be dramatic,” said Schwaller, the president
of a Hays real estate firm who serves on the commission. “It will just
accelerate the decline of arts organizations and the arts and culture
across Kansas.” But Department of Commerce spokesman Dan Lara said state funding for
an arts-related project by another agency — or even an “in-kind”
contribution such as employees’ time — could count toward meeting the
commitment required by the NEA for federal funds. Thus, the Department
of Commerce is considering partnerships with other agencies, he said.
“We continue to look for those opportunities,” Lara said.
State arts funding peaked at $1.7 million during Kansas’ 2008 budget
year. When Brownback took office in January 2011, he argued that private
funds should support arts programs so the state could focus its tax
dollars on “core” government functions, such as education, public safety
and social services. The governor in 2011 vetoed all state arts funding, which prompted
the NEA to cut off federal funds and brought Kansas national criticism.
Legislators in 2012 budgeted $700,000 for the arts commission, but the
amount has declined since.
The potential loss of federal arts funds comes as the state wrestles
with its own budget problems. State officials and university economists
last week issued a new fiscal forecast that slashed the state’s
projected revenues, and Brownback’s budget director, Shawn Sullivan,
immediately announced $124 million in budget adjustments to avert a
deficit. Sullivan and the chairmen of the Legislature’s budget-writing
committees said they weren’t aware of the NEA’s push for Kansas to boost
its arts funding. “The timing is almost impossible,” said Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican.
Lawmakers set aside about $190,000 for the Creative Arts Industries
Commission’s operations in the current budget. The state expects to
provide another $58,000, mostly from an income-tax checkoff for the arts
and the sale of special arts license plates. But the state’s $248,000 falls short of the nearly $473,000 that the
NEA says Kansas must provide to receive its federal funds. In its letter
dated Sept. 3, Laura Scanlan, the agency’s director of state and
regional partnerships, said federal law requires the larger amount as a
match and Kansas will forfeit NEA funds without it.
