Dear Arts Center Friends,
I am writing to let you know about a development within the 2020 City budget that affects the Lawrence Arts Center. Commissioner Boley and Mayor Larsen have proposed to fully eliminate the 30K we receive from the City of Lawrence for financial aid.
This funding from the City helps open the doors of the Arts Center for Lawrencians – mostly youth – who would not otherwise be able to participate in our programs. I feel compelled to speak up for our young ballerinas, seniors on a fixed income, future art college scholarship recipients, future inventors and preschoolers who this cut will affect. I urge you to do the same.
A city where the only people who can do things like take a ballet class, apprentice as a stage tech, or get a leg up on developing a portfolio for a college application, are the kids whose families can afford it, is not the kind of place Lawrence is – or should be. Lawrence is better than this.
The cut is not final, the City Commission has their budget hearing Tuesday, July 9.
I urge you to reach out to our City Commissioners to educate them about the impact of these cuts, and to encourage them to continue the City’s funding of financial aid at our community’s arts center!
Lisa Larsen: llarsen@lawrenceks.org, 785) 331-9162
Jennifer Ananda: jananda@lawrenceks.org, (785) 840-8255
Leslie Soden, lsoden@lawrenceks.org, (913) 890-3647
Stuart Boley, sboley@lawrenceks.org, (785) 979-6699
Matthew Herbert, matthewjherbert@gmail.com, (785) 550-2085
Sincerely,