Sam Brownback’s crusade against the Kansas Arts Commission
Just another in a series of less than proud days for my state.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has officially prevailed in his six-month fight to strip Kansas communities of their arts funding. By using the line-item veto in the state’s 2012 budget, Brownback cut funding for the Kansas Arts Commission — and made history of a dubious sort. Kansas is now the only state in the nation without an arts agency.
What does a state arts commission actually do? What will happen in Kansas without one? What’s this guy Brownback’s problem, anyway? All good questions.
From 1966 until the Memorial Day weekend just past, the Kansas Arts Commission received annual funding from the state of Kansas to distribute grants, develop programs and provide other assistance to arts organizations in the state. In 2010, it funneled a total of $1.5 million to 150 such organizations — locally, the Kansas City Performing Music and Arts, Association; Arts in Prison; and the Kansas City Symphony. Much of that $1.5 million comes from organizations that match state funds, such as the National Endowment for the Arts.