Art funding the latest target of Oklahoma budget trimmers
BY ZEKE CAMPFIELD NewsOK.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
MANGUM — The arts scene in Mangum took a big hit two years ago, when the longtime art teacher finally retired from the public school district.
Struggling to find a replacement at the same time state budget allocations were dropping, school administrators came to the same inevitable decision: Year-round art education at Mangum Schools, like the teacher, were relics of the past.
Now a $2,500 grant that funds a teacher at the rural Greer County district — a 10-day “artist in residence” program — is threatened.
The residency program, though not nearly as effective as in-house instruction, is the district's last shot at providing to its students what used to be a mainstay of public education, said Barbie Stover, the district's library and media specialist.
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