The funding crisis is showing up in a few papers this morning…
Erie Times News ran a story Don’t decimate arts funding in Pennsylvania.
Allentown’s The Morning Call reported Arts deserve funding.
WNEP-TV ran a story today about the budget cuts affecting Arts Alive.
Some young adults in Scranton are keeping a close watch on the budget battle in Harrisburg.
They fear thousands of dollars in cuts could affect the arts in school districts across our area.
For recent North Pocono High School graduate Samantha Kuniegel a future in visual arts is her next goal.
It’s a passion which, she said, is now more focused thanks to the state and local dollars funding a program called Arts Alive.
“There’s so much you learn here. You make friends and basically we’re a big family here,” Kuniegel said.
Arts Alive is now marking its 15th year in Scranton. There are 75 students, usually ninth through twelvth graders, learning to hone their visual and performing art skills from professionals in northeast Pennsylvania.
With the state budget battle in Harrisburg the young adults worry the proposed elimination of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts could mean four week summer programs like this one might be history.
“To see it cut would just be devastating,” Kuniegel added.
Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit runs Arts Alive. The director said the group gets the largest grant in the state to make this program and others happen throughout the year.
“We get about $200,000 a year which we match with school districts and community funding,” said Arts Alive Director Catherine Richmond-Cullen.
That money also helps keep costs down for students taking part in projects like this one.
Not only does Arts Alive help kids in a lot of school districts, but also those who are at risk.
“We are noticing a lot of changes with our at-risk kids. Specifically, one of our students this year is talking about 14th century icons. So they’re not only painting they’re doing the research and the concepts behind what they’re actually painting,” said Arts Alive Coordinator Stefanie Bush.
Organizers think you too will want to see this summer program continue after witnessing the finished products in person this Friday at the Scranton Cultural Center.
The state budget is now in the hands of a Conference Committee. Not sure what this means? Check out John Micek’s Capitol Ideas blog.
Senate conferees are Senators Pileggi, Corman, and Costa. House conferees are Representatives Evans, Eachus, and Smith.
Now is the time to contact them and let them know of the importance of the Arts in Pennsylvania.
The Save the Arts in PA Petion site is close to reaching 2000 signatures. Have you signed it? http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/SaveArtsinPA
The budget process is moving forward. Right now, leadership in both Houses of the General Assembly is deciding who will sit on the conference committee. Leadership is also soliciting priorities for funding from all members of the General Assembly. It is vitally important that the arts appear on these lists.
This is where you come in…
We are being heard. A legislator from Elk County remarked to one of our advocates that the arts were a “hot button” issue. In the speeches made during the Senate debate on HB 1416, four senators specifically talked about the arts during their remarks. They were Senator Jay Costa, Senator Vincent Hughes, Senator Anthony Williams, and Senator Wayne Fontana. If they represent you, please send them a note of thanks. We were also told by several legislative staffers that our Save the Arts Rally was the most impressive rally that has been held in years. So, your efforts are receiving notice.
Phone numbers for your legislators can be found by visiting our Legislative Action Center and typing your zip code in the box located at the top of the page. If you have difficulty finding the phone numbers, please give me a call at 717-234-0959 or send me an e-mail at jlh@citizensfortheartsinpa.org and I’ll locate the number for you. We need to keep up the pressure…CALL your legislators today!
Sincerely,
Jenny
Jenny Hershour
Managing Director
P.S. As soon as we have the names of the members of the Conference Committee, we will notify you as to the next steps to take.
This evening the PA Senate approved HB 1416 as amended which includes ZERO funding for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) by a vote of 31-19. The lone aisle crossing vote was cast by Senator Lisa Boscola.
HB 1416 as amended will be sent back to the House of Representatives tomorrow morning where one of three options can take place:
* They concur with the changes made by the Senate and send the bill to Governor Rendell for his signature;
* They vote to nonconcur with the changes and send the bill to a conference committee for further diliberation and compromise, or;
* They take no action on the bill
This is where you come in…it is vitally important that you call your legislator Tuesday morning to tell him/her that you would like the House to nonconcur with the HB 1416 as amended. This the only way that PCA funding can be restored to the budget.
We are down to the wire here. If you think that state arts funding is an important service for Pennsylvania government to provide to its citizens, then CALL your legislator in the morning.
You can locate contact information for your legislator by visiting our Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/artsusa/pa and typing in your zipcode in the box at the top of the page.
Please give call your House member if this is important to you. Do you want Pennsylvania to be the only state without an arts council, without state funding and without federal funding? Yes, money from the National Endowment for the Arts will also disappear if PA arts grants are eliminated from the budget because NEA grants must have a match from the state. Don’t let this happen, keep arts money in Pennsylvania by contacting your House member and telling him/her to vote for nonconcurrence with HB 1416 as amended.
If you have any questions or need a telephone number, please contact me at jlh@citizensfortheartsinpa.org or at 717-234-0959. Contact your House member NOW!
Below you will find video clips from the Save the Arts Rally in Harrisburg on July 14. Special thanks to Citizens of the Arts for organizing the rally and for the 300+ people that participated.
Robert Letieri, chair, Citizens for the Arts
Senator Jay Costa
Senator Anthony Williams
Mayor Pete Lagiovane
Mrs. Pennsylvania Kate Cohen
Caroline Allen, past president of Pennsylvania PTA
High School Senior Drew Shaull
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Chair, Diane Dalto
Things are moving fast in the halls of the PA General Assembly. The House of Representatives will be considering, and possibly voting on HB 1416 which does include funding for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). The bill is scheduled to go to the Senate on Monday where it will need bipartisan support for passage.
We need you to contact several senators from the southeast region of Pennsylvania asking TODAY. Below is their contact information so contact them by fax, phone and email. The message is “Support the $14 million for grants to the arts and $1.2 million for council on the arts.” [UPDATE: you do not need to live in the southeast region to contact these senators!!!]
Senator Erickson
Phone: 717-787-1350
FAX: 717-787-0196
E-mail: eerickson@pasen.gov
Senator Greenleaf
Phone: 717-787-6599
FAX: 717-783-7328
E-mail: sgreenleaf@pasen.gov
Senator McIlhinney
Phone: 717-787-7305
FAX: 717-783-5962
E-mail: cmcilhinney@pasen.gov
Senator Rafferty
Phone: 717-787-1398
FAX: 717-783-4587
E-mail: jrafferty@pasen.gov
Senator Tomlinson
Phone: 717-787-5072
FAX: 717-772-2991
E-mail: rtomlinson@pasen.gov
Senator Wonderling
Phone: 717-787-3110
FAX: 717-787-8004
E-mail: rwonderling@pasen.gov
Don’t put this off…if you do it on Monday, it may be too late.
If you have any questions, please contact Jenny Hershour at jlh@citizensfortheartsinpa.org or at 717-234-0959. Contact these senators TODAY!
Sincerely,
Jenny
Jenny L. Hershour
Managing Director
Citizens for the Arts in PA
Excerpt from recent Grant Oliphant, President & CEO of The Pittsburgh Foundation, presentation about why the arts are good for the economy. Pittsburgh’s Cultural District saved downtown.
DAN GLEITER, The Patriot-News
<UPDATE: We have removed the WFMZ-TV piece as the player automatically launches every time the SaveTheArtsInPA.com web page is loaded. Click on the link to watch. It is a great story…>
WFMZ-TV in Allentown “Artists Protest Proposed Budget Cuts In Harrisburg“
Alice Carter of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review writes “Art, culture supporters rally in Harrisburg for money state money” and “Region artists plead with lawmakers to continue support of arts”
Hanover’s Evening Sun reporter Steve Marroni “Arts supporters speak up for funding”
KDKA-TV “Arts Supporters Hold Protest At State Capital”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tom Barnes, has a story on “Hospitals, arts groups protest state budget cuts”
Erin McCracken of York Daily Record/Sunday News “Locals rally for the arts in Harrisburg”
Pocono Record writer, Michael Sadowski “Supporters of the arts to protest crippling budget cuts”
David Dunkle of the Patriot News “Arts fans rally at Harrisburg Capitol“