Save the NY State Summer School of the Arts!

Background:
For 39 years New York State Summer School of the Arts has served students from every area of the State who represent New York’s economic, cultural and racial diversity, identifying tomorrow’s leaders in the arts and providing them with intensive pre-professional training and career development opportunities.

Over 19,000 students have participated in this legislative initiative. The program’s success has been demonstrated by former students’ achievements with top professional companies all over the world and individual testimonials documented in yearly alumni surveys.

The State Division of Budget has advised the NYSSSA office that funding has been reduced by 50% and that the program office must begin planning immediately for retrenchment for the coming year. This means that the NYSSSA will have to close at least 4 of the 8 schools this coming summer. The NYSSSA program office has requested approval of a spending plan of 1,745,000 – representing a 0% increase from the 2008-09 plan. In the past 39 years, there have been very few increases in funding from the State. The cost of operating the eight NYSSSA schools is shared by State revenue funding and student tuition.

The unique partnership between the State, New York’s most prominent artists, artistic companies and cultural institutions, and parents has kept program costs to a minimum. NYSSSA continues to ensure that the programs are still accessible to all New York State students, as per the original legislative intent.

The program’s funding needs are modest compared to other State initiatives and the return on our tax dollar is great, developing tomorrow’s leaders in the arts and entertainment industry.

Petition:
We, the undersigned, urge Governor Paterson and the NY State Legislature to restore funding authority to the New York State Summer School of the Arts to ensure the operation of all eight schools. We encourage their support of Assembly Bill A06783 and Senate Bill S3640, which will stabilize the cultural education account by increasing local filing fees. These additional fees will provide sufficient funding for NYSSSA, one of the programs using revenue from this account.

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