Budget cuts have once again taken an ax to the arts.
Lack of funding forced ASU’s student-taught String Project teachers to do work administrators once did, and at lower pay.
Unfortunately, with budget shortfalls and a misplaced notion that schools’ arts and music programs are for extra credit or are simply extraneous, arts funding cuts such as this have become widespread.
According to a K-12 Arizona Arts Education Census published this year, the state has coped well with diminishing funds in some areas to still provide most students with a chance to get an arts education. Over 75 percent of students have access to certified music and visual arts instructors.
However, in other areas there were more discouraging statistics. For instance, only 39 percent of schools weigh the arts equally in terms of GPA when compared to other content areas. Furthermore, 79 percent of schools allot less than $1 per student for the arts.
The inequalities can also be seen in the time allotted to arts education.
Margaret Schmidt, the founder and director of the String Project, said in an e-mail that the district reductions affect time spent teaching art.
“Most arts educators see each student in the school 60 minutes per week or less,” she said, adding that three hours a week are allocated to math and science.
This is not enough instruction time.
There are two main reasons why arts programs are often among the first to go. In the midst of a struggling economy, school districts must make tough decisions on which programs to cut — the arts are often among the first.
While standardized testing is the best system currently in place to track student data, the arts are not heavily included in this process, if at all. Nonetheless, what cannot be overlooked is that the arts are one of the 10 core subjects included in No Child Left Behind, the federal mandate all schools currently abide by.
By insufficiently meeting the arts standard in NCLB, schools are failing to meet one of the federal objectives.
As the ASU music String Project shows us, primary and secondary schools’ arts programs are far from the only ones being hit.
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies reports that per capita, Arizona residents are allotted less than 50 cents in state arts funding. This results in fewer local art and music programs for residents to enjoy.
The arts community inspires and awes us every day, whether we know it or not. Whether you go to First Fridays, listen to the ASU marching band at football games, or take an arts course in school — you benefit from arts-related funding. It is time to take the arts off the chopping block and put it on the equal footing it deserves with other programs.
Tell Zach about your artistic experiences at Zachary.Levin-Epstein@asu.edu
Want to get the latest ASU news in your inbox every day? Sign up for our new e-mail newsletter.
