Ohio Arts Council Budget Cut 47 Percent
by Jami Goldstein

As the state’s budget heads to Governor Strickland’s desk for his signature, Ohio Arts Council staff is diligently working with final budget numbers to calculate fiscal year 2010 grant awards. Because the state arts budget was not finalized until July 10, 2009, grant award announcements will not be available until around July 24.

At the June OAC Board meeting, the Board voted to provisionally approve all grants for one year, instead of two years for some programs, until a special emergency session of the Board can be held in August to determine the best course of action for agency programs and operations.

The final version of the FY2010/2011 budget ($13,188,578 for the biennium) will reduce OAC grants by 38 percent from the final FY2009 budget and 47 percent from the original FY2008/2009 appropriation ($24.9 million). This will have a significant impact on FY2010/2011 grant amounts, although actual percentage reductions will vary by program. Some programs will be put on hiatus. This drastically reduced budget severely limits the ability of the OAC to provide financial assistance to artists, arts organizations, schools and other entities engaged in cultural programming throughout the state.

"Ohio’s cultural sector is critically important to the economic recovery of our state. The OAC will continue to do its best to help support the arts and cultural organizations that are reeling from the effects of the economic downturn,” said OAC Executive Director Julie Henahan. “Even at this dramatically reduced level, OAC funding will help maintain jobs, support education programs and drive tourism in Ohio.”

Please remember: The arts mean business for Ohio and contribute significantly to the education of our children!

• For every $1 the OAC invests into communities, an additional $52 is generated through private, municipal and individual funds.
• According to the study released in April 2009 by the Bowling Green Center for Regional Economic Development the creative industries in Ohio brings in more than $25 billion in revenue that contributes to the economic competitiveness and recovery for the State, support 231,000 jobs and generates $1.06 billion in state and local tax revenues.
• The arts and arts education contribute to the kind of imaginative thinking, problem solving, skills and innovation that Ohio needs to be competitive in the 21st century global workforce.

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