Like being cut off from your parents and being forced to live on nothing, arts budget cuts are worse than have been imagined in recent years.
The 20 percent cut will slice funds by about $100,000 and it is uncertain how severely the cut will affect the Fine Arts Division, which includes art, music, photography, speech communication, theater and dance.
Each of these programs will be affected, along with the other programs that are funded by the Auxiliary Services Board.
Other programs funded by the ASB are the athletics department, children’s choir, inter-club council, South Bay orchestra, the Union and student government.
“We have been sent a preliminary budget which is substantially less then in previous years,” Leslie Back, dean of fine arts, said.
According to EC’s website “The ASB donated more than $180,000 a year to the Fine Arts Division…we have had to cut programs for this division; therefore, to prevent more cuts, it is our commitment to generate and increase the sales of the ASB sticker so we can once again offer these important educational programs that we (have) lost,”
Because the ASB has overspent its budget for some time and there is no longer any money in reserve which is why this year’s cuts were needed.
“The ASB committee has been most understanding for the fine arts need over the years and it is very supportive of our programs,” Back said.
As a result of the cuts, some students’ outlooks are not positive.
“I am mad because I wanted to be a music theory tutor, but because of the budget crunch, they’re not hiring any new people,” Jack Ryan, music major, said.
There is not any information being given out about which classes, labs or services will be cut for the next semester, but the faculty in each organization will decide which classes, labs and services will be eliminated.ÿÿ
“The community wants a Center for the Arts program for El Camino,” Philip Gomez, Associated Student Organization student trustee, said. “The community gave money to the Center for the Arts to bring back the musical.”
Funds donated by the ASB are used for various things within the arts program.
“Our students’ theater performances are well-known in the community. Sets, costumes, props and even the plays selected are directly related to the amount of funding provided,” Back said.
Ticket sales can bring money back into the ASB as well as the ASB discount sticker, which is now being sold at the Marsee Auditorium ticket window as well as the cashier’s window.
The sticker is the most important part of ASB funding, as students may purchase a sticker for $10.
The board had thought of a way to cut funding while still providing enough money to run the arts program, Harold Tyler of student development, said.
“The ASO and our advisers researched alternative methods in order to get income so the cut would not be necessary, but at this time, it looks like the cuts are going to be necessary,” Justin Bagnall, student body president, said.
“I think it is horrible,” he said.
