FY2009 state arts advocacy agenda for
MISSOURI CITIZENS FOR THE ARTS

MISSOURI ARTS COUNCIL

$500,000 appropriated for the core budget of the Missouri Arts Council.
• This $500,000 request represents core funding from general revenue for the Missouri Arts Council.

MISSOURI CULTURAL TRUST

Transfer of $14.6 million of the tax from non-resident athletes and entertainers who work in Missouri to the Missouri Arts Council Trust Fund.
• This request represents the $7.8 million core and an increase of $6.8 million.
• Missouri Citizens for the Arts (MCA) will work for the restoration of full funding from the Non-Resident Professional Athletes & Entertainers Tax (Section 143.183 RSMo).
The Non-resident Athletes & Entertainers Tax (A&E Tax) is the personal income tax on professional athletes and entertainers when they play or perform in the State of Missouri. It is collected by the State of Missouri and, by Statute, a designated amount is to be distributed among the following five Cultural Partners: Missouri Arts Council Trust Fund (60%); Missouri State Library Networking Fund, (10%); Missouri Humanities Council Trust Fund, (10%); Missouri Public Broadcasting Corporation Special Fund, (10%); and the Missouri Historic Preservation Revolving Fund, (10%).
• The actual amount collected (as reported by the Missouri Department of Revenue) is approximately $28 million annually.
• MCA strongly encourages the commitments to the arts community by maximizing funding for program grants, honoring commitments to the CIP participants, addressing staffing shortages and reinvestment to the core.
• MCA will oppose any attempts to allow other groups to benefit from A&E revenues prior to fair and equitable distribution of A&E monies to the Missouri Cultural Trust Fund and to the Cultural Partners.

MISSOURI FINE ARTS ACADEMY

Appropriate $302,370 for the budget of the Missouri Fine Arts Academy.
• The Academy is a three-week residential program for 200 rising high school juniors and seniors who are gifted in the arts.
• The Academy requests a $125,000 supplemental increase for the MFAA for FY2009.

FINE ARTS ASSESSMENT

Mandate Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to work with the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education in assessing all Missouri fifth grade students in the Fine Arts beginning in the 2009-2010 school year.
• More than $2 million of state funds have been spent in development and pilot testing of the Fine Arts Assessment.
• Inclusion in the statewide accountability system restores the arts as a critical component in education, reflecting the integral role the arts play in children's development.
• With Fine Arts MAP data, fine arts educators will have the tools to make informed decisions about curriculum and instruction with the same precision as do teachers of other subject areas.

FINE ARTS IN MISSOURI SCHOOLS

Encourage Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to reinstate 1500 minutes per school year of fine arts as a curricular requirement at the middle/junior high school level.