By Jana West, Sedona Resident
(September 24, 2013)
“Artist Community Doesn’t Care About Future Artists”, I think if I was writing this letter to an international audience, to all the people who have ever visited Sedona, they would be appalled and disgusted by this statement. Can you believe a town that makes so much money from tourists and the art that draws them here, would allow their public high school art departments to disappear? I think it’s shocking and should be at least a national story.
Sedona gallery owners, along with other business owners, know that art is a significant part of the draw that brings millions of tourists to Sedona, yet they are allowing the Sedona High School’s art, drama & music programs to be annihilated due to budget cuts to those departments. When the last school budget initiative failed by only a few votes, art classes and materials, those teachers’ wages, due to teaching fewer classes, and some sports were cut! I bet tourists, past and present, would be shocked to know this – I know that I am.
My daughter is being affected by these cuts in her drama and art classes, so I know first hand how tragic this is. How can a student learn about art if the class is too full to get into, or learn about techniques when they have to beg for individual help in a packed class of 33 students, or when supplies aren’t available for them? They are learning patience and that their community doesn’t care if they learn – not a craft.
Stop this embarrassment! Please write donation checks directly to the department of your choice – art, drama or music. If not specified, the money will go into the general fund. And vote YES for the Budget Override Initiative this fall.
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1 Comment
Jana, as a fellow Sedona resident for the past 12 years and local business owner, I can empathize with you. Although I don’t have children, I am very understanding and sympathetic to your perspective.
Sedona touts itself as an Art community but in the present conditions it is doing everything to stifle the arts. Honestly, I wasn’t aware of what was going on at SRRHS, and I do agree with you that lack of funding is simply not acceptable. Perhaps the city can lay off a few of the 58 police officers that we have here, way more than we need, and use their wages to brighten the education and future of our city’s children, our youth, a precious resource.
But this is only the beginning of the scope of the nastiness of the city and their warped, convoluted ways of doing things. In 12 years of living here, we have lost the Sedona Cultural Park, with very little assistance from the city to revive it; now having Pine Mountain Amphitheater in Flagstaff taking its place. Much more recently Sedona lost Studio Live, an incredible place to get to experience the town arts, closed due to politics and excessive “sewage” taxes. Sewage taxes on a sewage system that was supposed to be completed years ago, yet many residents are still on septics which no work being done on the sewer system in years. Yet we have a tax that is shutting down local arts in the community.
Yet it gets worse, now the city has a sound code enforcement officer going around to local businesses like the Martini Bar, Olde Sedona, Relics, Oak Creek Brewery, and The Field harassing local business owners and the town musicians who are simply trying to share their music with the public. How are we to be calling ourselves, “Sedona” an arts community when local musicians are not free to perform without fear of being harassed by the city and getting costly citations AND our children don’t even have the resources available to learn about the arts?
My opinion is that just like in Washington DC where most politicians are as corrupt as the bills the pass, the same exists in Sedona. I wonder who is pulling their strings, because at least in the scope of public music performances, every single person I know is in favor of that.
I hope the city starts to make changes in their policies and budgeting based on the masses, not just a few political bullies that seem to be controlling our vibrant community.