Featured in this issue
Pay It Forward: Funding Arts Education in the Carolinas
By Terry Ward
Kevin Pettit, teacher at Irmo High School in SC with a student. Photo courtesy of Kevin Pettit.
Lore claims that there is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. But for arts education the sharp hues of the rainbow are fading, and clouds persist. State funding for the arts has not only been cut but, in some cases, there is a threat that it will be eliminated altogether.
In South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s January, 2011 State of the State address, she proposed eliminating the state’s art commission budget of $2.5 million. Arts commission money allows it to partner with public schools all over the state to provide arts resources ranging from visiting authors to artists workshops.
In July of 2011, The NC Arts Council announced a drop of about $1 million in funding for grants. The decrease is about 15 percent, compared with funding level of a year ago.
Karen Wells, ARTS North Carolina executive director. Photo courtesy of ARTS NC.
Karen Wells, ARTS North Carolina’s executive director, said the budget for the arts in North Carolina has been cut by 32 percent since 2008, and it’s time for arts backers to become more vocal in support.
“We are sending the message that art education is a smart investment,” Wells said.
Kevin Pettit is an art teacher at Irmo High School in South Carolina. He echoes Wells’ sentiment. Pettit said there is a lot of wisdom behind funding arts education. Pettit has a Masters degree in art education and he is a National Board Certified teacher. He has been teaching art in public schools for more than a decade.
“The data showing the importance of teaching arts in schools is overwhelming,” Pettit said. “Art develops the creative side of your brain. That creativity needs to be nourished. It helps develop deeper, higher-order thinking skills.”
Pettit has seen, firsthand, the results of lessening arts funding. He said the lack of salary increases for teachers is only one consequence of the money crunch. “In the classroom, our budget has been cut every year.” The small amount given (for classroom teaching aids) evaporates quickly just to maintain items like the overhead projector Pettit depends on to teach his students.
North Carolina Rep. Becky Carney (D-Mecklenburg) has been in the trenches at the state government level, fighting to stem the attack on funding. She is a former school board member and she has sponsored legislation to put more arts curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grade. She said funding of arts, especially on the public school level is essential to the development of students. Carney also tells a story that emphasizes the impact arts can have on education.
NC Representative Becky Carney. Photo courtesy of NC House of Representatives.
“There was a student who was not doing well. He was ready to drop out. The teacher asked him, ‘What made him feel good, what made him happy, and what would make him produce?’ The answer: singing. So the student agreed to come back one more day, and he was allowed to sing the school’s morning announcements, according to Carney. “He got to sing the morning announcements every day and he came back every day,” she said.
In South Carolina, the type of fight for arts that Carney is leading in her state, is just as heated. Haley, who was facing a budget deficit of close to $1 billion characterized arts-education funding as an expense the government “should not be responsible for.”
Opponents of Haley’s funding cutbacks pointed out that arts funding in South Carolina comprises less than 1 percent of the state’s budget, while the state’s arts industry generates exponentially more in revenue and supports thousands of jobs.
To stave off a dearth of arts funds, the state’s House and Senate eventually vetoed Haley’s plan to eliminate the Arts Commission. And a $1.9 million appropriation for the SC Arts Commission avoided the chopping block for the Fiscal Year 2011-12.
Even with the veto that stopped Haley, funding for the arts in South Carolina is 16 percent less this fiscal year than it was last year. Arts funding in the state is 55 percent lower than in 2008. According to Americans for the Arts, more than thirty states have cut funding for the arts.
Wells, of ARTS North Carolina, said the attention the arts is getting from budget-cutters is a signal to strategize and re-focus on the purpose. “We are re-phrasing, re-articulating and re-shaping our message,” Wells said. She added that spending on arts education has a multitude of residual results that benefit every facet of society, from the business climate to quality of life. Wells also said that in addition to the need for funding from the state, grants to the arts serve as a catalyst for other contributions to the arts from foundations and other sources. “It is an indication of leadership and values for an organization. It is related to the confidence in management of an arts origination and its integrity,” she said.
SC State Senator Kent Williams. Photo courtesy of SC Senate.
South Carolina State Sen. Kent Williams represents a district where arts education is essential. The Marion Democrat is based in the Pee Dee region of the state, where funding for education and the arts has traditionally lagged. He said the effort to avoid cuts is strong.
“In the past few years, every program in our state has taken cuts and countless valued programs have not received the funding they have in the past,” Williams said. “The legislature has strived to protect the dollars earmarked for our students and teachers as much as possible.”
While the money has not yet dried up completely, Williams said there are challenges looming. “I don’t know what will happen with funding for the arts in our schools this coming year. But, regardless of what happens, parents and community leaders must do what they can to ensure young people have a creative outlet, be it local theater, music in the park or painting murals as a community project. We must make sure our children continue to experience the arts,” Williams said.
Regardless of community input, Williams said arts in schools must be defended. “Every school district in South Carolina is dealing with shrinking budgets, rising costs and often increased enrollment. Often the easy answer on a local level is to cut funding to the arts programs. I firmly believe the arts have had a profound effect on South Carolina and how our state’s culture and history are appreciated around the country,“ Williams said.
He also said that constituents are vocal in their support for arts spending. “Whenever budget cuts loom we have found that the teachers and parents take a stand. They work together and try to find other means of funding through grants to keep the doors open to the program,” Williams said. “Many of the parents I hear from expressed that if it was not for these types of programs, their child would have fallen through the cracks. Sometimes the children have discipline problems in school and are placed on punishment or time-out due to their behavior. These programs give these students something to look forward to after school.”
Terry Ward has worked as a journalist for most of the last 20 years. Based in Columbia, SC, Ward has experience as a writer for magazines and newspapers. He has worked all over the state and finds true joy in learning about the people and subjects he covers.
