Leaders from arts and education institutions gathered recently for a round table discussion at McCarter Theatre, in response to the growing crises resulting from funding cuts and fears of censorship.
Participants included Martin Miller, executive director, McCarter Theatre; Michele Russo, president & CEO, Young Audiences NJ and Eastern PA; Jorden Schiff, assistant commissioner, Division of Teaching and Learning Services, New Jersey Department of Education; Rosetta Treece, superintendent, Hopewell Valley School District; Donna McInerney, CEO, Foundation for Educational Administration, New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; Vanessa Ramalho, director of external relations, ArtPrideNJ; Rhonda diMascio, executive director of Morven Museum and Garden; and Erik James Montgomery, teaching artist with Young Audiences.
McInerney said, “We’re seeing budget cuts impacting school districts’ key leadership roles, particularly that of supervisors. We have supervisors in visual and performing arts roles with no experience in the arts. We need experts in all the content areas to provide a well-rounded curriculum that includes the arts — that’s what’s best for students.”
“We’re seeing ripple effects of the cuts to the U.S. Department of Education including schools laying off arts specialists who are our partners, and reduced budgets for the arts,” said Russo. “Threats to NEA funding means there is a loss of matching funds to support critical programs, like our work in inclusive arts education for students in special education.”
While the community has helped to support the arts, Hopewell Valley School District is having to make tough decisions, Treece said. “Our parents will fundraise as much as they can, but they cannot cover everything. Our district has had to make cuts to arts programs. We had to cancel the yearly field trip to the symphony for our elementary-grade students. I’m having to make choices: cut teachers or cut vital arts programming.”
Morven Museum and Garden is in the middle of capital improvement projects. DiMascio said, “We’re hiring contractors, and passing the majority of grant funds back into the economy to benefit small businesses. These cuts mean less programming for residents and fewer dollars into the local economy.”
“When we talk about the importance of national support, we’re really talking about the importance of our broader arts ecosystem,” said Miller. “We can’t just solve this challenge state by state, or organization by organization, because that will lead to cultural deserts across the country. In rural communities, an NEA grant often makes the difference between sustaining and closing up shop for good. Losing these hubs for gathering, tolerance, and economic activity steals a brighter future from our kids.”
The conversation turned towards the sanitization of history, censorship, and fears of censorship. “We’re seeing a lot of censorship and self-censorship, and anti-DEI sentiment is growing,” said McInerney. “But the arts are centered in diversity: of culture, artform, and expression.
“There’s been an attack on arts and culture and there’s pressure to ‘sanitize’ history. We won’t go back and ‘scrub’ our work,” said DiMascio. “As a result, we haven’t pursued grants that require that type of compliance.”