Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s
Answers to the Maryland Citizens for the Arts Questionnaire

1. How do you think Maryland’s quality of life is affected by its arts organizations? How will this be reflected in your policies and budgets?

A: Art enriches our daily lives by providing a source of beauty and inspiration, enchantment and entertainment. Throughout history, people have found sustenance and inspiration through artistic expression. The ideas and beliefs of past civilizations are revealed to us through the remains of their art and material culture. It is our responsibility to perpetuate a strong cultural legacy for future generations of Marylanders.

The quality of life in Maryland is greatly enhanced by its arts organizations and artists, as these groups and individuals provide instruction, expression, and entertainment for many individuals and communities throughout our state. Additionally, the arts are a source of economic prosperity for the State, generating jobs and income for Maryland citizens and economic opportunity for businesses providing services to or complementing the arts industry. In 2000, Maryland arts organizations employed over 17,000 citizens with a combined annual economic impact of $765 million. I will support arts programs and the businesses that support and complement the arts so that we will have a thriving arts community that will help both our art and cultural programs and our art-related economy thrive.

Part of supporting and developing opportunities for the arts and arts-related economy involves supporting programs that improve the overall quality of life and economy in Maryland. Achieving this goal requires investing in resources including quality education, health care, and public safety. When businesses decide to locate in a state a number of factors are considered, including as access to quality health care, education and cultural activities. One of the key components for Maryland’s economic success over the past eight years has been the investment made in education, health care, public safety, all of which have increased the quality of life in Maryland. These will continue to be high priorities in the budgets and policies of the Townsend administration because these investments will provide a strong foundation for our state’s long-term economic growth.

2. For over ten years, Maryland Citizens for the Arts has shared a goal with legislative leaders and past Administrations to fund 10% of arts organizations’ operating budgets through the Maryland State Arts Council. Although in recent years, the level of Maryland State Arts Council funding has increased annually, except for FY 03, the growth in the numbers and sizes of arts organizations has increased even more rapidly. The percent of the operating budgets funded by the state has fallen from 9% in FY 01 to 7.25% this year. Do you accept the goal of providing 10% of the operating costs of arts organizations and what will you do to implement it?

I do accept the goal of providing 10% of the operating costs of arts organizations and have pledged to work with the arts community toward this goal, although it may not be possible to reach this goal immediately given the budget challenges the State faces in FY 04.

In the short term, I will honor House Bill 594. This means that I will include in the budget the amount placed in the last Governor’s budget adjusted by the percentage revenue increase – should there be one – as provided in the legislation. The major cuts in the current fiscal year budget were made by the legislature. I pledge to identify the funding for the Maryland State Arts Council as a priority as I work with the legislature through the budget process in order to try and protect the Maryland State Arts Council budget from the deep cuts it took last session.

In the long term, as mentioned above, I pledge to work with the arts community towards the realization of the goal of 10% funding for fully qualified organizations.

3. The arts in Maryland generate 17,238 jobs, $30 million in state and local taxes and have an economic impact of $765 million. How will your administration recognize and further this component of Maryland’s economic development?

I am very interested in working with the arts community to recognize innovative ways to incorporate the arts into economic development. I worked with the current Administration to develop Smart Growth initiatives to accomplish this. In 2001, Maryland was one of the first states in the country to sponsor Arts and Entertainment Districts (AED) for economic development purposes. Six jurisdictions currently have AED designations. These are the Gateway AED in Prince Georges County, the Hagerstown AED in Washington County, the Silver Spring AED in Montgomery County, the Station North AED in Baltimore City, the Bethesda AED in Montgomery County and the Cumberland AED in Allegany County.

The benefits offered to selected districts include: 1) property tax credits for renovation of certain buildings that creating living and working space for artists and/or space for arts and entertainment enterprises, 2) income tax relief for income derived from artistic works sold by resident artists, 3) exemption from the admissions and amusement tax, and 4) access to financial assistance from the Maryland Economic Development Fund. Plans for Arts and Entertainment Districts also involve coordination with local planners to develop the best mix of cultural and commercial activities to revitalize neighborhoods. And, that is the underlying goal of establishing an AED.

In the Townsend administration, we will work to rebuild and revitalize inner city areas and selected neighborhoods through programs such as this. The AEDs we have now will provide a blueprint to encourage jurisdictions to plan more effectively and to strengthen linkages between arts organizations and local businesses. These efforts offer an excellent way to attract new audiences for arts organizations as well as exciting opportunities for businesses to grow through dollars spent by an increased number of patrons and visitors to the area.

4. Arts Education has enjoyed a growing level of support from legislators and the Governor for more than ten years. What is your position relative to state funding for arts education instruction and programs in public schools?

As Governor, I will continue to advocate and fight for the state dollars needed to provide quality instruction in the literary, visual and performing arts for all students. The arts are absolutely essential to a complete education. Children need to develop their creative intelligence to prepare for life and work in the 21st century. Additionally, I will continue working with the arts community and schools to develop new initiatives in arts education to target “at-risk” youth and provide positive alternatives for children in need.

As Lt. Governor, I worked to help the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) obtain increased funding to improve arts education in schools statewide. MSDE has adopted new standards for arts education for all students in grades K-12, and provided dedicated funds to implement five-year plans to strengthen arts education in every school district. I believe we have a responsibility to provide Maryland’s children with the best arts education possible.

There are other state-funded programs that also provide arts education in our schools by bringing literary, visual and performing artists into classrooms. I would like to see more opportunities like these incorporated in an interdisciplinary way, such as the study of American history supplemented with a lesson taught by an art teacher or art historian about painting or architectural styles in colonial times.

Beyond dedicated state funding for arts education for programs such as those mentioned above, arts education should be supported adequately from federal, state and local sources in the same way that other disciplines should be. I see the arts as an integral part of the basic education to which every child is entitled.

5. The Maryland State Board of Education has adopted the goal that 100% of Maryland’s students will participate in fine arts programs that enable them to meet the content and achievement standards established by State standards for the arts. This goal places the arts—dance, music, theater and the visual arts—on the same level as other core subject areas including reading, math, science and social studies. Do you agree with this goal? How will you support the achievement of this goal?

A: This is a goal I have worked toward over the past eight years. The Maryland State Board of Education recognized that establishing state standards for content and achievement would help to ensure that all students in all school districts have access to quality arts instruction. I will continue to strongly support the State Board of Education’s policy on arts education and accountability measures established for that policy.

Through educational research, we know that children learn in different ways. Visual and kinesthetic learners benefit significantly from instruction in the arts by learning alternate methods of understanding information and expressing themselves. But all children benefit from instruction in the arts. Arts instruction develops a range of practical skills that enhance learning in other core subjects, such as critical analysis and an understanding of visual, dramatic and other modes of communication. As one example, we know that children who study music are more likely to perform better in math. Our schools need to provide these learning advantages for all children. Such advantages should not be limited to only those children whose families can afford to supplement their education. Not only should there be arts education programs for all students in Maryland schools, it is essential that they be high quality programs.

As Governor, I will work with local school systems to make sure our resources, both federal and state, are spent prudently. It is vital that arts education is strongly supported through all funding, whether from Federal, State (including Thornton), or local sources. Further, I will work with the State Board of Education as I have in the past to support dedicated funding for arts education.

In addition, I will use the bully pulpit of the Governor’s office to ask everyone in Maryland—parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, support professionals, businesses, volunteers and, not least, the students themselves—to work together toward a day when all our children have the opportunity to meet the state’s arts standards and fulfill their potential in the arts.