Jackson exit spurs call to cut funding
A city council committee pulled funding for the arts group.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The decision to not renew the contract of Isaiah Jackson may cost the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra more than just its music director.
At the request of Councilman Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st, city council's Community Development Committee withdrew $40,000 from its budget allocated for the symphony society's Adler Art Academy capital improvement project.
The symphony society has owned the Edward W. Powers Auditorium on West Federal Street since September 1968. The auditorium is the home of the symphony orchestra and is in Gillam's ward.
Council's Community Development Committee recently approved a revised Community Development Agency budget that eliminates $40,000 in funding for the symphony. The symphony originally requested $50,000.
The symphony cut was based on Gillam's recommendation, said Councilman Richard Atkinson, R-3rd, and the committee's chairman.
"Artis raised questions, and it's in his ward so we defer to him," Atkinson said.
If the city opts to not provide money for the art academy that houses arts organizations, it will greatly impact the society, said Patricia Syak, the symphony's executive director.
"It's a huge disappointment," she said. "It's an unfortunate situation. I'd be very disappointed in the city if it happens."
Behind the cut
Gillam's reason for eliminating the symphony funding centers around the society's decision to not renew Jackson's contract when it expires June 30, 2006.
An initial statement from the symphony society stated Jackson wouldn't renew his contract as music director when it expires.
Upon hearing that, Jackson said he was shocked and perplexed that it made it look as if he wanted to leave. Jackson, music director for the past nine years, said he wasn't given an explanation for the decision.
In response to those comments, symphony society officials said they interpreted a letter from the music director's manager that Jackson didn't want to keep the job after his contract ended. They also issued a statement that they didn't believe it was appropriate to comment further.
But Syak said the symphony is expected to release a follow-up statement in a few days.
Promises
City officials promised $250,000 in CDA funding for the arts academy in the Adler Building -- $50,000 a year for five years. The city provided $50,000 annually for three years, but gave nothing to the symphony last year.
"We were concerned because we have an outstanding pledge of $100,000 from the city, and we've already paid for the work," Syak said. "We'd like to have our money. It's a promise and a pledge. Pledges are taken seriously by the symphony."
The council committee initially reduced that amount to $40,000, but was considering funding the entire $50,000 request. The funding proposal recently was eliminated by the council committee and is technically under review by the committee.
Gillam said he went out on a limb to get funding for the symphony in the CDA budget.
"I pushed for this, and my colleagues weren't that interested in doing it," Gillam said. "Now I hear conflicting stories about Jackson. I have a problem with how this was handled. It's disturbing and upsetting to me."
Gillam said he questions the board's honesty because of the conflicting statements on Jackson's interest in remaining.
Hope
The Community Development Committee has a $50,000 line item in the $5.26 million CDA budget listed as "under review," the same phrase next to the Youngstown symphony. Either $40,000 or $50,000 would go to the symphony if Gillam gets satisfactory answers to his questions before council votes on the CDA budget, either April 6 or 20.
The society has received $1.2 million from the state's capital budget during the past few years for improvements and expansion to Powers and for the art academy.
Also, the recent capital bill provides $250,000 toward the 600-seat Eleanor Beecher Flad Pavilion performance hall at the former site of the auditorium's Chestnut Street parking lot. The pavilion's cost is about $5 million, with most of it collected, Syak said. It should open this spring.
The symphony's operating budget continues to run at a deficit.
The symphony's budget for the 2003-04 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004, shows a $138,626 deficit.
The symphony collected $1,874,650 during the last fiscal year, and spent $2,013,276. About half its income comes from ticket revenue and the other half from contributions and government grants.
"We always operate at a deficit," she said.
The symphony takes money from its endowment fund, established in the mid-1980s, to balance its budget each year, she said. The endowment at its highest point had about $4 million, Sykes said. It's about $3 million now.
"If it weren't for the endowment, the symphony couldn't function at all," she said.
skolnick@vindy.com