[Source: Srianthi Perera, Arizona Republic] -- As much as department stores lure shoppers by changing their selections each week, museums perk people's interest by changing exhibits. When Mesa Southwest Museum begins its new fiscal year July 1, the cultural institution will be less vibrant than in the past: There will be few, if any, changes in the three galleries, fewer staff members and fewer hours in which to enjoy them. After Mesa residents voted for the half-cent sales tax increase but declined a property tax in Tuesday's election, the museum expects its annual funding of $2.3 million to be halved. "Obviously it's a terrible blow to the museum and the staff," Director Tom Wilson said. "The city has been building the museum for 30 years and overnight tore it apart."Wilson said even if funding is restored, the museum won't be the same for years. "You lose so much of what you've built up. It's a very significant blow to the institution and to Mesa," he said. Starting July 1, the city-owned museum will function with 11 fewer staffers than a year ago. During the last six months, a curator of history, lead collections specialist, volunteer coordinator, museum educator and a marketing person left on their own. A hiring freeze kept the positions unfilled. On Wednesday, Wilson had the unenviable task of telling two exhibition staffers, two collections management staffers, a development officer and the curator of Sirrine House (pictured above) that they would be let go.
The outlook is similar at Arizona Museum for Youth, which expects its annual funding of $1.3 million to reduce by half. "It's going to be quite a cut in staff for us to operate," said Sunnee Spencer, executive director, who has identified positions that will be axed. They include museum outreach specialist, youth and family specialist, gallery associate and museum exhibitions technician. Her staff of 14 full-timers and 19 part-timers would be whittled to 6 full-timers and about 20 part-timers.
At the private, non-profit Mesa Historical Museum, news that the city has axed the cultural-aid grant that supplied $75,000 last year, about 35 percent of its annual budget, is disheartening, executive director Lisa Anderson said. "I'm not expecting any funding. This would probably be the last year," she said.
