By URIAH KISER
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Arts organizations in Prince William County next year may have to look elsewhere for a portion of their funding.
The county’s leader, Board Chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-At large, wants to cut $193,000 from the annual budget. That money, in years past, has been used for a competitive grant bidding process to help fund 21 non-profit members of the Prince William Arts Council – an organization that once thrived under the county’s old independent Park Authority before it was dissolved and reclassified as a department of local government.
Performing and arts groups use those grants – which add up to just a few thousand dollars each per organization — to help offset the costs for renting rehearsal and performance space.
“We need some reforms in the budget, and the idea is to lop off the grant money as a cost savings for citizens,” said Stewart. “Arts groups shouldn’t rely on money from taxes for their budgets – many successful arts groups are able to raise money through ticket sales, sponsorships, and fundraising.”
News of the proposal took members of the Arts Council by surprise.
“I’m hearing things from our members like ‘I can’t believe this is happening,” said Arts Council Chairwoman Sheyna Burt. “We are really at the point where the Arts Council has it stuff together. We work hard to be good stewards of community funds.”
The council includes quilters, photographers, writers, musicians, singers, theater troupes, and the Hylton Performing Arts Center – a first class arts destination in Manassas that has an annual operating budget of $3.1 million, and is a partnership between Prince William, Manassas, George Mason University, and the state.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
There are rumblings that the grant funding could given instead to the Hylton. Stewart, who serves on the Hylton center’s Board of Directors, says he’s not in favor of taking cash from one arts organization and giving it to another.
But, officials at the Hylton know changes could be coming.
“There’s already a lively discussion among people in the arts community about funding. This is an ongoing process and it’s too early to comment or to speculate on what might happen,” said Hylton Performing Arts Center Director Rick Davis.
Those who support the Hylton say speculation has put the center in a precarious situation.
“As I understand it, the Hylton Center neither asked for this money nor do they want it. It puts them in a terrible position – they know better than anyone the value of having a vibrant local community performing arts scene – the last thing they want is to be seen as cannibalizing funding from their colleagues in the community,” said Betty Dean, who gives money to the Hylton annually and works for Didlake Inc. – a benefactor of the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
Future of the Arts Council?
The talk of funding changes has also prompted fears that the Arts Council will be dissolved altogether. It was created by the Prince William Park Authority to decide which arts organizations in the county would benefit from funds garnered from the county’s annual budget. With the Authority now dissolved, Burt said the grant process is still tried, true, and competitive.
“Just because someone is on the Arts Council doesn’t mean they automatically get funding,” said Burt. “It’s a methodical process, and the application is extensive.”
Partnership with schools
Members of the Arts Council also enjoy an agreement with the Prince William County Public School system that allows for a discount when renting out classrooms for rehearsal and performance space.
Beverly Hess leads the Youth Orchestras of Prince William – a 300-member organization made up of students from first grade through seniors in high school. They rehearse at Gar-Field, Hylton, and Patriot high schools, and the organization only pays the school system for the labor cost incurred for using the space – about $200 dollars per week. Hess fears the cost could skyrocket to $2,000 per week if the Arts Council and the discount go away.
“Our biggest obstacle is finding rehearsal space. If we can’t rehearse, we can’t perform,” said Hess.
The orchestra is made of six ensembles, and the children normally fill three to four classrooms when they rehearse. When they perform, the orchestra also holds shows at high school auditoriums, as they use those same rehearsal classrooms where children can warm-up before taking the stage. While performing at the Hylton arts center would be nice, the center doesn’t offer the same classroom space for staging children prior to performances, and it would not be conducive to their needs, said Hess.
Corey Stewart said the case of the Youth Orchestras is an exception that could be looked at, and that keeping the arts in schools is important.
Arts Council to rally
The Arts Council is not taking all of this laying down. Burt said the organization will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at the place to be determined to discuss the future of the council. Slated to join them was Interim Executive Director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts Foster Billingsley, who was slated to help the group chart their future.
The council is in the process of creating a new website that would serve as a destination for all things arts in Prince William, but that project may have to be put on hold.
Update
Prince William Arts Council Chairwoman Sheyna Burt says new information obtained today assures her that funding for the arts will not be cut. Here’s a portion of an email distributed by Burt:
I am delighted to inform you that the noise generated by Arts Council members and others in the community on behalf of the arts has worked … for now. This morning the County Executive communicated to us that after a series of very productive conversations, her proposal will include NO reduction in funding for the arts, meaning that she proposes that the Arts Council and the arts grant pool be funded at the same levels as last fiscal year. Though the grant application process likely will be subject to review, the funding will not be diverted to the Arts Center.
Part of what is amazing about this is the level of outrage that emerged from the community in the face of these cuts. I think the message is clear: Prince William County values the presence of local artists and arts organizations. We’re doing something right, people.
Don’t dust off the champagne quite yet, though. The County Executive’s proposal will be formally announced to the Board of County Supervisors on February 12 and will be adopted by the Board of County Supervisors on April 23 after a series of work sessions, a community meeting, and a public hearing. It is critical that the Arts Council organize and mobilize to make sure that the arts are protected. Accordingly, the Board will meet briefly on February 12 to discuss [strategy] before breaking into committees as previously planned. The emergency, special meeting that I was beginning to plan for February 5 mercifully is no longer necessary.
