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Arts leaders urge increased funding for Ohio Arts Council and arts education in HB96
Summary
The Ohio Arts Council and allied organizations asked the Senate Higher Education Committee to sustain and increase state arts funding to support grants, teaching-artist residencies, and expanding eligibility; the Alliance requested a $4M per‑year increase to hold current grantees harmless as new organizations become eligible.
Representatives of Ohio's arts and arts‑education sectors testified to the Senate Higher Education Committee about the proposed biennial budget for the Ohio Arts Council and related programs.
Donna Collins, executive director of the Ohio Arts Council, described the council's grantmaking across all 88 counties, noted the agency's 60th anniversary, and cited research on the arts' economic contributions (job counts and statewide economic value referenced in testimony). Collins said grant demand has increased while staff levels remain lean and requested administrative increases in the House budget to address application processing and oversight, and to hold current grantees harmless as new organizations become eligible for multi‑year operating support.
Jared Hartzler, executive director of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, requested a $4.0M per fiscal year increase to the OAC's GRF subsidies to absorb newly eligible applicants and maintain current funding commitments; he framed the increase as necessary to sustain arts education in schools and workforce pipelines. Committee members asked about return on investment and comparisons to other agencies; Collins and Hartzler provided program metrics and offered to provide comparative data.
No committee funding decisions were taken today; witnesses said they would supply additional data to committee staff as requested.
