Funding for Key Areas of Arts Education Experiencing Sharp Declines – Even Before Anticipated Budget Cuts
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORTFunding for Key Areas of Arts Education Experiencing Sharp Declines–Even Before Anticipated Budget Cuts
Independent analysis of New York City Department of Education arts education spending raises cause for concern as schools face cuts to their budgets—may signal de facto shift in the provision of arts education
KEY FINDINGS
As part of ongoing analysis of data provided by the New York City Department of Education (DOE) through ArtsCount, the Annual Arts in Schools Reports and other sources, The Center for Arts Education has taken an in-depth look at system-wide budgeting for arts education over the past three school years (2006 09). The data reveal significant declines in budgeting in two primary areas of arts education: budgeting to hire the services of arts and cultural partners to deliver educational programming to schools, and budgeting for arts supplies, musical instruments and equipment. These declines began before the onset of the current economic downturn and during a period of significant growth in the city’s education budget. With imminent budget cuts slated for schools, the arts are likely to suffer further debilitating losses.
As part of ongoing analysis of data provided by the New York City Department of Education (DOE) through ArtsCount, the Annual Arts in Schools Reports and other sources, The Center for Arts Education has taken an in-depth look at system-wide budgeting for arts education over the past three school years (2006 09). The data reveal significant declines in budgeting in two primary areas of arts education: budgeting to hire the services of arts and cultural partners to deliver educational programming to schools, and budgeting for arts supplies, musical instruments and equipment. These declines began before the onset of the current economic downturn and during a period of significant growth in the city’s education budget. With imminent budget cuts slated for schools, the arts are likely to suffer further debilitating losses.
Our analysis revealed that:
- Budgeting to hire the services of arts and cultural organizations to provide arts education directly to students has declined 31 percent, or $6.6 million, since the 2006 07 school year, signaling a shift away from cultural arts partners as education service providers;
- Budgeting for arts supplies, musical instruments and equipment has declined by 68 percent, or $7.2 million, during the same time span;
- Middle school declines are most pronounced, with decreases of 48 percent to hire the services of cultural arts partners and 79 percent for supplies, instruments and equipment;
- These budget declines coincide with the introduction of ArtsCount and the phasing out of Project ARTS, which provided a financial incentive for schools to invest in the arts;
- Budgeting for arts personnel has increased 11 percent, or $31 million, in three years, with a net increase of 139 licensed arts specialists added during that time span;
- Overall DOE expenditures increased by 13 percent, or $2.1 billion, from the 2006 09 school year, with expenditures for school budgets increasing from $6.6 billion to $7.6 billion during that time span.
| Attachment | Size |
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| CAE Arts Spending Research & Policy Brief PDF | 104.97 KB |
