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| CSC Board Votes to Give $50K to Orpheum |
The president of Carl Sandburg College says a $50,000 contribution to Galesburg's Orpheum is consistent with the school's mission, while one CSC board member disagrees.
The CSC Board of Trustees Thursday night voted nine to one to give the $50,000 out of its capital funds to the Orpheum, in support of the Orpheum's application of the "Save America's Treasures Grant". where matching funds must be sought for the half-million dollars in federal stimulus funds the theatre wants in order to make major renovations.
College president Tom Schmidt says one of the reasons the college needs to support the Orpheum is simple. "Carl Sandburg College has the opportunity to send a clear signal to this community that the performing arts are of value," Schmidt said. "I won't allow myself to be stipulated or pinned to a corner of being able to demonstrate that and do the pro forma profit and loss statement on that. It is an intangible. It's a human quality that must be cared and taken care of."
The money, Schmidt says, will come from interest income earned from a bond levy and other means. The lone dissenting vote came from Bruce Lauerman, who said even though it's not directly taxpayers money, it's still not something taxpayers should support. "We took this money from the taxpayers and said we were going to educate the kids, we're going to educate the middle adults who have lost work," Lauerman said. "We didn't say we were going to make a contribution to the Orpheum Theatre. I don't think that's the right place for our money to go."
Schmidt said the money comes at a perfect time, given that the college hopes its performing arts major will eventually transfer to, for example, Western Illinois University and make use of a new performing arts theatre there being funded through the state's new capital bill.
(Orpheum Theatre. WGIL News File Photo.) |
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| 08 27 09 by Newsroom |
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