This paper examines the consequences of Kansas Governor Sam Brownback's decision to eliminate state funding for the Kansas Arts Commission. By cutting state support, Brownback inadvertently — or deliberately — made the Commission ineligible for matching federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, which requires a formal state-federal funding partnership. The paper explores Brownback's rationale for privatization, the NEA's reasoning for denying funds, the impracticality of replacing state support with private philanthropy, and the broader policy implications if the NEA were to waive its eligibility requirements for other states facing similar budget pressures.
When Republican Governor Sam Brownback denied state funding to the Kansas Arts Commission, he set into motion a chain of events that rendered the Commission ineligible for matching federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). According to federal regulation, the Kansas Arts Commission must demonstrate that it is financially supported by the state in order to receive money from the NEA. Brownback, an ideological conservative, defended his action by arguing that the Kansas Arts Commission should rely upon private sources of funding. However, his decision meant that the Commission would need to compensate not only for the loss of state dollars from budget cuts, but also for the resulting loss of federal dollars. Compounding matters further, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private group based in Kansas City, Missouri, announced plans to cut off its own funds to the Commission as well (Hanna, 2011).
Brownback did not formally eliminate the Kansas Arts Commission. However, he replaced seven of its twelve members so that the Commission would be more sympathetic to his program of privatization. He proposed eliminating the Commission and reducing the state's support for the arts to a $200,000 subsidy for a private, nonprofit Kansas Arts Foundation. The Arts Commission considered appealing the NEA's decision but ultimately concluded there was little hope, given the NEA's stipulation that funding is contingent upon a federal-state partnership. Even if private funding could sustain the Arts Commission, this arrangement "does not meet the eligibility requirement of being 'financially supported by the state'" (Hanna, 2011).
Eligible organizations must also maintain "a designated budget" and "designated staff with relevant experience" — conditions that the nonprofit proposed to replace the Commission would not likely satisfy (Hanna, 2011). The only fundraising mechanism proposed by a Brownback appointee was the sale of "support the arts" license plates through the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.
Brownback also defended his decision by pointing to areas of greater need within the state budget. However, as the article "NEA Funding for Kansas?" from Americans for the Arts noted, the amount Brownback would have needed to allocate in order to secure matching federal funds was relatively modest: "Governor Brownback understood the need to minimally invest $200,000 of state treasury funds in order to secure the NEA federal match" — the very same amount he proposed to direct toward his private, nonprofit commission that would not meet federal funding standards (NEA Funding for Kansas?, 2011).
Arts USA defended the NEA's decision, highlighting the deliberate nature of Brownback's defiance: "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).
Relying solely upon private funding, as Arts USA noted, is not a feasible construct. Donations are drying up rather than becoming more available in the wake of the economic crisis. The amounts businesses contribute to the arts have been plummeting — to say nothing of the fact that this type of support can be questionable in terms of its independent nature. As a direct consequence of Brownback's decision, the Kansas Arts Foundation would need to raise nearly $2 million in private philanthropic dollars (NEA Funding for Kansas?, 2011).
"Private donations insufficient to replace lost public funding"
"Precedent risk threatens NEA's national state-partnership model"
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