New York State Summer School of the Arts Program Facing Huge Cuts

The New York Time is revealing in an article today that the real estate crash has struck an unexpected casualty. The New York State Summer School of the Arts, a 40-year-old, state-subsidized program that offers training in theater, dance, music and visual arts, may have to cut its budget by as much as half this year because of the state's budget crisis and, in particular, the drop-off in real estate transactions reports the paper.

The summer school program has gaining financing in recent years from the state's Cultural Education Account, which also finances the New York State Museum, the State Library, the Archives and the Office of Public Broadcasting. The revenue for the Cultural Education Account is generated by fees levied by county clerks' offices for the filing of title and mortgage records.

A week ago, staff members of the summer school program, part of the state's Education Department, were told in a conference call with staff members from the Division of the Budget that they should plan to cut their $1.59 million spending plan for this summer by 50 percent. To read the full article and comments by former students click here.