At least one Polk County philanthropist is stepping up to help the local arts community after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all $32 million in arts and cultural grants that Florida legislators had vetted and included in the state budget.
With the stroke of a pen, DeSantis deleted all funding for the three categories of arts and cultural grants: Cultural and Museum, Culture Builds Florida and Cultural Endowments. The vetoes affected more than 600 recipients statewide.
The move blindsided many organizations including the Florida Children’s Museum, the Polk Museum of Art, the Polk Theatre, Lakeland Community Theatre and Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales.
What it means for Polk: For the new fiscal year, which begins Monday, 14 Polk arts groups had been approved to receive $1.271 million in grants. Lakeland’s share of the total was $618,181.
This was “unprecedented in the history of the grants program … zero dollars for the state arts and culture grants,” said Jennifer Jones, the President and CEO of the Florida Cultural Alliance.
The cuts have left some groups scrambling to avoid having to lay off staff members or cut programming.
Philanthropist offers help: One of Lakeland’s biggest philanthropists is already looking over the list to see what he can do.
Wesley Barnett’s family was heavily involved in establishing Bonnet Springs Park and moving the Florida Children’s Museum there. He said Wednesday that he had not spoken to the governor about the vetoes but had spoken to Daryl Ward, executive director of the Polk Arts and Culture Alliance, about how he and his wife’s donor-advised fund with the GiveWell Community Foundation could assist.
“I don’t know his rationale for those vetoes,” said Barnett, a DeSantis supporter. “It was widespread across the state, so it wasn’t like he was singling out Polk County or the Children’s Museum. I can’t speak to his intentions. We are looking at the repercussions locally and seeing if there is anything we can do to help out.”
Polk County cuts
Cultural and Museum Grants
- Florida Children’s Museum (formerly known as the Explorations V Children’s Museum) — $150,000
- Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College in Lakeland — $150,000
- Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales — $150,000
- Theatre Winter Haven, Inc. — $145,000
- Lakeland Community Theatre — $90,000
- The Polk Theatre in Lakeland — $90,000
- The Lakeland Symphony Orchestra (formerly known as The Imperial Symphony Orchestra) — $73,181
- Friends of the Lake Wales Museum, Inc., which supports The Lake Wales History Museum — $43,455
- Florida Dance Theatre in Lakeland — $40,000
- Lake Wales Arts Council — $25,000
Culture Builds Florida
- Platform Art in Lakeland — $25,000
- Blossom Charitable Foundations, Inc., of Lake Wales — $25,000
- Artist Donald A. Gruel, Jr. of Davenport — $25,000
Cultural Endowments
- Bok Tower Gardens, Inc., in Lake Wales — $240,000
A ‘devastating’ decision with no explanation
Why did he do it? The governor is not required by law to explain budget vetoes. He sometimes sends veto messages, but he did not regarding the arts cuts.
“The governor reviews every bill and appropriation that comes across his desk and uses his authority under the Florida Constitution to make veto decisions that are in the best interest of the state of Florida,” Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for the governor, told USA Today-Florida reporter John Kennedy.
The local fallout: Florida Children’s Museum CEO Kerry Falwell called the cuts “devastating,” noting that these requests were part of a rigorous grant process, which often takes months to complete and involves lengthy, written proposals, as opposed to requests made directly through legislators.
“We know that our state leaders make budget decisions as to what they feel is the best stewardship of Florida taxpayer’s dollars,” Ward said in a news release. “However, having no funding allotted for the arts and cultural sector can have severe consequences for these organizations.”
Legislators had already trimmed statewide arts funding from $77 million to $32 million before DeSantis’ veto. Ward said $3.6 million is needed to fully fund Polk County’s Culture Builds Florida Grants, while $4.56 million is needed to fully fund Polk County’s Cultural Endowment.
Grassroots support: Ward commended the Polk County Commission and several municipalities, including Lakeland, for their continued commitment to the arts, offering both grant and direct funding to arts and culture nonprofits.
“We’re fortunate that they appreciate how arts and cultural experiences enhance Polk’s quality of life,” Ward said.
Lakeland quality of life: Lakeland supports the Mayor’s Council on the Arts, which funds the rotating sculpture program on Lemon Street and other projects.
Mayor Bill Mutz said the Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College receives $100,000 of the $275,000 funding, while the rest goes to growing nonprofits after they meet certain criteria.
Mutz spoke from Spain, where he and his family are attending the wedding of the exchange student his family hosted for eight years.
“That $32 million to those art entities is hugely important — and that takes a ton of time to raise, by the way, and a lot of benevolence,” Mutz said. “This isn’t a Republican or Democrat decision; it’s wanting to be fiduciarily responsible. To me, when I think, ‘Gosh why would you do that to the arts when the arts are the hardest thing to fund’ … I think it’s because you rely on philanthropy to fill the gap.”
Get involved: Ward suggested that residents and arts patrons get more involved with arts organizations.
“I hope our local community will step up and support these groups by attending events, purchasing memberships, making donations, and increasing volunteer hours,” Ward said. “It’s important that now, more than ever, we work towards getting this funding restored at the legislative level as well as doing our part at the local level to assist our arts and cultural organizations.”
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The State, Counties, and Municipalities have NO income tax derived revenues in Florida. The State, Polk County, and the Metro Lakeland/Winter Haven have been shown with few exceptions to be highly supportive of very conservative, some might say nearly radically right, elected officials. Should we say that generally the far right stance on the arts are that arts are associated with liberal culture in my opinion. The Governor has chosen to cut out the arts funding. I speculate DeSantis believes his working class and retiree followers have no need of “the arts”, and his wealthy supporters can buy or pay high prices for their own art entertainment. Meanwhile DeSantis reaps political rewards for cutting spending and not increasing fees. It’s politics; that’s what it is.
The “surprise” at how the governor could do such a thing… this is who he is. We know the value and importance of the arts locally and fortunately have benevolent donors to help fill that gap. Sad for the organizations – all quality – building community and creating quality of life for us, directly and indirectly.