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Art Academy of Cincinnati urges council for $250,000 to sustain campus safety and programs
Summary
Multiple Art Academy of Cincinnati students, staff and alumni told the Budget & Finance Committee the college is requesting $250,000 from the city to support campus security infrastructure and community arts programming in Over-the-Rhine.
Speakers from the Art Academy of Cincinnati pressed the Budget and Finance Committee to include $250,000 in the amended city budget to maintain campus security infrastructure and community arts programs in Over-the-Rhine.
The request was presented by Sarah Stoller, who identified herself as “the new academic dean at the Art Academy of Cincinnati,” and followed by a series of current students, staff and alumni who described the school as a civic anchor. “Since 02/2005, our established safe zone area has experienced a 64% reduction in overall crime, including a 70% drop in violent offenses and a 58% drop in property crimes,” Stoller told the committee and asked council to “support the art academy” with the requested funding.
Speakers described the school as a longstanding workforce and cultural institution that draws and retains creative talent in Cincinnati. Katie Brenner Wolf, introduced as director of enrollment and student success, told the committee that “more than 80% of our graduates choose to remain in Cincinnati,” and described the academy’s role in preparing graduates for local arts, nonprofit and business jobs. Several speakers urged the city to fund security upgrades — citing outdoor lighting, pedestrian projects and security cameras — and to invest in the academy’s community programs.
Board members and alumni also described the academy’s historical ties to the city. One speaker noted the building’s designers and artists and the school’s move to Over-the-Rhine in 2005, which they said helped stabilize and revitalize a multi-block area near Jackson Street.
The comments were made during the committee’s public-comment period; committee members did not vote on the funding request during the session. The budget process described by the committee chair calls for council members to present proposed adjustments, aggregate them into a single package, and then aim for a collective discussion in finance and a potential vote before the council’s June 30 budget deadline.
If councilors choose to act on the request it would be part of the broader budget amendment process now underway; no formal appropriation was adopted in the committee meeting.
