Academy Divided
There was a public forum held Saturday, February 17, 2007, at the Academy of Music concerning Academy affairs. The event was co-sponsored by the Academy’s Board of Trustees, the Northampton Center for the Arts, the City Council’s Cultural Affairs Committee, and the Mayor’s office.
The Board of Trustees and the Mayor’s office didn’t respond to the Paradise City Forum’s request to co-sponsor the meeting thus we had no platform from which to pose unscreened questions. Several folks in attendance from the PCF indicated to me after the meeting that their questions were not read, though I suppose some might have been as well. We usually receive positive feedback with regards to the quality and tone of our live forums, so I’m not certain why we weren’t invited to participate or help plan the event since so many of us have weighed in publicly on the matter. For some of us the discussion seemed derived from a script controlled from the outset by those most politically familiar with the crisis, while others holding a contrasting perspective seemed delighted to be out on the town and involved in the bailout. In my view it was an opera house divided, though politely so.
It is true that during a time of crisis, opportunities often arise allowing for those with influence to make their mark. Who can forget President Bush’s stunning rise in popularity polls as he led the country immediately after the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. Today President Bush has yet to learn how to admit past mistakes and reach across the aisle to successfully work with his critics. As a consequence some assess his administration as polarizing and having wasted opportunities to unite the country. Similarly, this forum didn’t seem inclusive as those orchestrating it offered one basic perspective and limited the free exchange of ideas. Concepts were not developed beyond brief sound-bite answers and I could hear ongoing comments from several people in the audience seated near me who grumbled under their breaths, dissatisfied with the discourse as it was.
Invited by Mayor Mary Clare Higgins, Susan Kohler Gray moderated the forum and indicated they had issued about 200 Frequently Asked Questions leaflets. I took a count and can confirm her estimate that between 150-200 people attended, including many of Northampton’s notables. She further added that the sponsors were conducting this forum because it is difficult to have a conversation through the media, though one seldom hears this criticism when the media is acting congenially towards those in authority.
Ms. Gray set the tone early by going through the forum “Agreement” that was posted on an easel down in front, though none in the audience signed it that I could tell. It read, “Open Minded, Curious, Respectful, Focused, Brief, Allow me to move us along,” these were the directions we were given. Index cards had been issued as we entered the building and we were to write down our questions and hand them back in. After a half hour’s worth of introductions another eighteen minutes expired while Mayor Higgins, City Council President Michael Bardsley, and Northampton Center for the Arts Director Penny Burke issued statements regarding the Academy. After the index cards were collected Ms. Gray went through the cards and at 1:48 PM she began posing questions to members of the Board of Trustees, who were sitting in with the audience nearest the stage. Few allowances were made for follow up questions, though a few people persisted. I didn’t record every question but here’s what I did take notes on and how I see things for what it’s worth:
One question concerned why the minutes of Trustee board meetings have not been made public. Mayor Higgins replied that she didn’t think 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations are required to make public their minutes.
However I must interject that since the Academy is accepting public monies adopting this practice would be prudent, otherwise this could be interpreted as taxation without representation. One of the problems the board manifested when incorporating as a nonprofit in 2000 is the appearance of no accountability and transparency to the public. Not holding public meetings or making available meeting minutes compounds unease in the community as Trustees bypass these issues by claiming they’re not required to provide such information or to perform as such. I maintain that Trustees cannot have it both ways, that is, being the recipient of a $50 thousand public bailout sans formal documented public oversight is not equitable. As an aside, the moderator indicated minutes were being kept and would be distributed in a timely fashion and I noticed someone audio visually recording the forum as well.
Other questions concerned the state of the Academy and whether or not the community at large should elect board members. Board President Andrew J. Crystal responded that Mr. Lyman’s original deed called for five appointed members and that the nonprofit corporation redrafted Lyman’s intent to include eleven self-perpetuating members and currently two seats are open. He stated Mayor Higgins is the board member with the longest tenure serving for the past seven years and added that if anyone is interested in serving in this capacity they should send a request to: info@academyofmusictheatre.com. He replied further that board members have been actively recruiting new members but that it is difficult getting people to join. Asked what weaknesses the board has he stepped down unable to formulate a cogent response to the query.
Linda C. McInerney, a relatively new board member who lives in Deerfield, stepped up and delivered a straightforward reply. She implied Trustees should work harder to secure a broader donor base and to establish an annual fundraising campaign. She quite directly and earnestly exclaimed she has logged more than 30 hours a week trying to help repair what is wrong with the Academy. She explained further that Trustees didn’t put out a community distress call sooner because they didn’t want to inhibit would-be donors.
Of course from a policy perspective, had it become public knowledge that the Academy was in trouble, the public’s perception related to other issues of local concern might have been altered as well, as the Academy’s core leaders are involved in many other municipal proceedings. Successful politics relates to positive perceptions, not necessarily realities, so it is not uncommon for politicians to accentuate their involvement with positive issues while minimizing their involvement with the negative ones, in order to retain political power. To be sure the Academy has been foundering for years, its demise shielded by a perception that things were running smoothly and progressing nicely. Now we know the truth of the situation.
Mr. Peotter of WGBY was in attendance, and some in the crowd murmured pleasure at the new alliance forged between the public television station and the Academy, but one woman questioned the potential loss of public control, referencing the recent programming changes at National Public Radio’s WFCR as an example. Though it was indicated WGBY intended to help only with fundraising, the television station also plans to open an office in the Academy thereby giving them a regular presence in the building, while also conducting ten events annually. It seems WGBY will be involved in more than fundraising.
The control issue was introduced again when another woman put forth the creation of a new group that had formed, FAME, Friends of the Academy of Music Endowment. She was informed that fundraising would come under WGBY’s “umbrella” in order to not replicate efforts. For more information send an email to info@nohofame.org.
When asked what lessons have been learned Mayor Higgins responded aptly with a public policy clich that the Academy “can’t do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.” She continued that community members need to discuss future programming, governance, and the prospects for the Academy collaborating with other arts organizations so as not to compete with each other for the same public dollars.
Smith College President and Academy Trustee Carol T. Christ chimed in that the Academy doesn’t take in an adequate amount of donations, that the movie business is a difficult one, and that the Academy needs a viable fundraising plan. She also added that Smith College officials couldn’t simply divert money entrusted to them for students, buildings, and grounds to the Academy.
Trustee Paul Weinberg explained that it took the board “courage to do the right thing” in closing down the film aspects of the Academy and firing associated staff. He said that only 40-50 people attended movies nightly on a regular basis. Asked about the union contracts, Mr. Crystal indicated when the current projectionist contract expires a new one will be negotiated, but he didn’t address the personnel who had been fired or whether they would be called back to work or not.
When the question was read, “Should members of the Board of Trustees resign?” an outburst occurred as an anonymous voice from the rear of the opera house bellowed “NO!” and Mr. Crystal replied that the “board didn’t do anything wrong,” that they had reduced the Academy deficit from $300 thousand to less than half that amount, and that each member of the Board of Trustees made a significant financial contribution to the Academy in the past year, not elaborating further. Ms. McInerney added that the board is “pure, with no bad guys.”
Another pointed question posed: can the Academy operate without an expensive Executive Director? In response Mayor Higgins stated, “The recent difficulties with staff had nothing to do with where we (the Academy) landed.” She furthered that compensation of $40 thousand per year for a half-time Executive Director was not extravagant. There also was some confusion as to whether the Executive Director resigned or was fired.
At about 2:45 they took a few questions from the audience Paradise City Forum style, but several hands were retracted as the meeting concluded by 3:00 and the moderator indicated she didn’t get through all the index cards. She did announce that another forum would take place in five weeks at the Northampton Center for the Arts, across the street in the Old School Commons, on Sunday, March 25, from 1-3 PM. That meeting would be more interactive she promised.
Comments from the audience in those closing minutes included that a venue of this sort needs 60% of its revenues to originate from fundraising, the alliance with WGBY might lead to the homogenization of programming, arts workers are not paid enough, running a single screen theatre is economically unsustainable and the balcony could possibly be converted into a couple of smaller screen venues, the Academy could sell “time shares” to community arts organizations, and finally Trustee meeting minutes should be made available to the public.
