Dancers from the Colorado Ballet, a Tier II Scientific and Cultural Facilities District organization, rehearse earlier this year. (Denver Post file)
Re: “Don’t fiddle with SCFD funding proposal,” Sept. 16 editorial.
The current community debate about how to allocate future Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) funds is really a conversation about the region’s creative future. Some will argue that the five large SCFD Tier I organizations can serve as engines that will stimulate the growth of the area’s creative economy. Although we all value those institutions, innovation in science and the arts in urban areas like Denver is most frequently fueled by a multiplicity of organizations of all sizes, with the smaller entities frequently leading the way. In addition, examples of successful creative regional development illustrate that such development is fueled by flexible funding sources that can respond to and support innovative ideas as they arise.
The initial goal of the SCFD was to replace funding for four large institutions that were losing significant annual public funds allocation. Since that time, those organizations have been financially stabilized. Now is the time — for the sake of creative development across the region — to continue to support those entities but not hand them nearly half a billion dollars in entitlements over the next 10 years.
Anthony Radich, Denver
This letter was published in the Sept. 23 edition.I have been a supporter of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities (SCFD) since its conception in 1988, and my nonprofit organization would not exist had it not been for the taxpayer support. We gratefully acknowledge this publicly in everything we write and speak.
Itap obvious our district has changed greatly since 1988, but it is also obvious that the SCFD Board cannot separate itself from the demands of Tier I.
The SCFD needs to change with the map and the people. If the board can’t see and represent the interests of all of its constituents, the electorate will provide that vision for them at the polls next November.
I am set to campaign again for the best arts and culture support in the nation. Letap develop a better funding plan and get going.
Jena Dickey, Littleton
The writer is founder and artistic director for Young Voices of Colorado.
This letter was published in the Sept. 23 edition.
