Perry wants suspension of arts commission, others
George Ramirez, president of the Brownsville Society for Performing Arts, was shocked by the news Tuesday of the possible suspension of the Texas Commission on the Arts. The last he heard was that the agency could expect a 5 percent budget cut.
“It’s our lifeline to money outside the Valley, outside of Brownsville,” Ramirez said. “This has huge implications.”
In his State of the State speech Tuesday, Gov. Rick Perry recommended the suspension of the Commission on the Arts, the Texas Historical Commission, the Board of Professional Geoscientists and the Board of Professional Land Surveying — all in an effort to address the state budget shortfall, estimated at $15 billion or more.
The suspensions would be for the 2012-2013 biennium and would save the state some $11.7 million.
The Brownsville Society for Performing Arts was founded in 1994 and is a private, nonprofit entity. It has brought many events to the city, including the Latin Jazz Festival and the Brownsville Guitar Ensemble. It is also involved in the Capitol Renovation Project, the Revitalization of Downtown Brownsville and other projects.
The Brownsville group has been able to land the largest grants the Texas Commission on the Arts hands out to organizations, which is $12,000, Ramirez said. The BSPA has been receiving grants for more than 10 years.
“If that is gone, that would have a huge impact on what we do,” Ramirez said.
Further, he said, the long relationship between the Brownsville Society for Performing Arts and the state commission allows the Brownsville group to apply for funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“The Texas Commission on the Arts doesn’t just provide money but know-how and assistance to our organizations in applying for grants elsewhere,” Ramirez said. “The reason we are getting grants from the National Endowment for the Arts is because we first got qualified with the Texas Commission on the Arts.”
“It would be devastating to every art organization here in the Valley,” Ramirez said of the proposed suspension of the state commission. “This is really terrible news. It is devastating.”
Priscilla Rodriguez, executive director at the Brownsville Historical Association, also reacted Tuesday to the governor’s recommendation that the work of the Texas Historical Commission be suspended.
She said she often contacts the state agency for advice on preserving historic sites in Brownsville.
“The Texas Historical Commission has a ton of different departments,” Rodriguez said, making it the go-to place if you need help with something.
While the Brownsville Historical Association does not receive any funding from the state commission, it receives something some people might consider more valuable — advice.
“As far as funding it is not going to affect us, but it was always nice if you had some bigger question to be able to call a state agency and say, ‘Are we allowed to do this?’” Rodriguez said.
If the agency is suspended and a question arises that needs to be addressed, “I guess we would have to work it out amongst ourselves,” Rodriguez said.
Perry said if there was ever a time to “truly” reform the state’s approach to governance and streamline the state organization, it is now. He said frank discussions about the true purpose of state government “must be followed by a willingness to act on our convictions.”
Lmartinez@brownsvilleherald.com
