Nea Delivers Bad News to Kansas Arts

¶ … NEA delivers bad news to Kansas Arts Commission," when the Republican governor of Kansas Sam Brownback denied funding to the Kansas Arts Commission, the governor set into action a chain of events that made the Arts Commission ineligible for matching federal funds from the National Endowment of the Arts. According to federal regulation, the Kansas Arts Commission must show that it is supported financially by the state to receive money from the NEA. Brownback, an ideological conservative, defended his action by saying that the Kansas Arts Commission should rely upon private sources of funding. However, his decision means that the Arts Commission must now 'make up' for the loss in funds, not just of state dollars from budget cuts, but also of federal dollars as well. "Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private group based in Kansas City, Mo., [plans] to cut off funds as well" (Hanna 2011).

Brownback did not eliminate the Kansas Arts Commission. However, he replaced 7 of its 12 members so that the Commission would be more sympathetic to his program of privatization. He has proposed eliminating the commission and reducing the state's funding for the arts to a $200,000 subsidy for a private, nonprofit Kansas Arts Foundation. The Arts Commission considered appealing the NEA decision, but decided there was little hope, given the NEA stipulation that funding is contingent upon a federal/state partnership, and even if private funding could keep the Arts Commission going, this "does not meet the eligibility requirement of being 'financially supported by the state" (Hanna 2011). Eligible organizations must also have "a designated budget" and "designated staff with relevant experience," which the nonprofit proposed to replace the commission would not likely possess. (Hanna 2011). The only proposed method of fundraising raised by one Brownback appointee is the idea of using 'support the arts' license plates, which would be sold through the state's Department of Motor Vehicles as a source of funding.

Brownback also defended his decision by citing areas of greater need in the budget. However, the article "NEA funding for Kansas?" from Arts USA notes the relatively miniscule amount Brownback would have had to allocate to get matching funds: "Governor Brownback understood the need to minimally invest $200,000 of state treasury funds in order to secure the NEA federal match," which was the equal amount he proposed to set up his private, nonprofit commission that would not meet federal funding standards (NEA funding for Kansas, 2011, Arts USA). Arts USA defended the NEA decision, noting that Brownback's defiance had a deliberate quality: "To provide federal dollars to the newly privatized Kansas Arts Foundation would do a disservice to those states which have complied with federal guidelines and have recognized the value of the arts as a state government priority and allocated state monies accordingly" (NEA funding for Kansas, 2011, Arts USA). If the NEA sets a precedent to waive the Kansas requirement, than more and more state governments, particularly given current funding pressures, may elect not to fund their local arts commissions. The NEA cannot afford this to happen, given the budgetary pressures it is currently suffering itself in Congress. Moreover, the NEA's role regarding state agencies has always been conceptualized as a partnership. Brownback's action seemed to flout this in a flagrant manner.