Seminole County keeps funding for Arts Council after residents speak out

After more than 10 residents spoke out in favor of keeping arts funding intact, the Seminole County Commission made the first step to increase funding for two arts organizations Tuesday – instead of cutting funding, as organizers feared. 

But the Commission will have another vote on the finalized contract at an upcoming meeting. 

The Commission passed a motion to approve a baseline $50,000 funding each for the Seminole Cultural Arts Council – commonly known as SCAC – and Sanford’s Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center – or The Ritz Theater – on Tuesday morning. The commission also approved giving the Arts Council $48,881.60 in grant funding – twice the budgeted amount of $24,440 for the current year. 

That grant funding was the source of friction with commissioners, starting at a meeting in December when Seminole County commissioners raised concerns over how the SCAC’s funding was being spent. 

Commissioners said that grant funding should not be used for salaries at the Arts Council. 

“Our [the commission’s] intentions were different than the execution, at least from the documents,” Chair Andria Herr said in an interview with Oviedo Community News. “We are responsible to the taxpayer for holding those organizations accountable, and we have not done that as well as we should have, so we’ll take the ownership for that.” 

Deborah Bauer, the executive director of the Seminole Cultural Arts Council, later disputed that the grant money went to salaries and overhead. 

“I think that there has been a lot of misunderstandings,” Bauer said. “And I think one of the biggest things has been there seemed to be a belief that we were using grant funding for operational, administrative salary cost, and that’s quite frankly, blatantly untrue.” 

Commissioner Amy Lockhart said the grant money was never intended to be used for operating overhead. She clarified that Tuesday’s discussion was to consider what to do with the grant funding, and not about removing the usual funding of $50,000 that goes toward the Arts Council’s operations. 

“…Not because Seminole County hates the arts, not because we want to cut arts funding, but because we have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure the money we get is spent in the way it’s intended,” Lockhart said. 

You can watch video of the presentation here. You can read staff’s presentation here. 

Bill Hyde, Oviedo resident and frequent attendee of the county commission meetings, expressed support for the commissioners’ inquiries during public comment. Hyde has previously criticized the Commission for spending money for Arts Council salaries in the same year that the county increased its property tax rates, gas taxes and utility rates.  

“I didn’t know all these details about the convoluted history and the budgets and stuff, but you know what? I’m really glad to hear the Commission getting into the details, because it is my tax money,” Hyde said.  

Residents speak out on arts funding

The commissioners’ earlier decision to hold off on approving the grant money alarmed teachers, parents and local citizens who feared the loss of funding for local arts initiatives.  

Artists, teachers, parents and PTA members each approached the commission to share how the arts have touched their lives and urged commissioners to continue to support the arts in Seminole County. Chelsea Smith, professional artist and Seminole County High School alumn, attended the meeting to show her support for the SCAC. 

Smith, like many others who spoke in favor of SCAC, wore green to show her support for the arts. She spoke at the microphone wearing a neon green leopard print jumpsuit and sparkly green eye makeup.

“I’m glad we were able to keep the funding, and I’m glad that everything worked out,” Smith said. “I was really nervous, because I’ve benefited as an artist from programs like this, and they’re doing a lot for future generations. It’s really important to fill in the gaps that the school system or the different other places aren’t filling.” 

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The grant money in 2024-25 included $2,500 to Johnson Hill-Washington Heights Community Outreach to produce a free, one-day cultural heritage event at Oviedo High School in 2026. 

Oviedo High School theatre teacher James Brendlinger, who also spoke during public comment, told Oviedo Community News he was pleased that the County Commissioners voted in favor of SCAC.

“I have to admit, I came to the meeting in the mistaken belief that arts funding was going to be cut in Seminole County – but listening to the commissioners speak, I came to understand that no cuts were planned,” Brendlinger wrote in an email. “It was simply a discussion of the best ways to administer the funds.” 

Although the SCAC should receive the additional funding for the 2026 fiscal year, the continued grant funding is still up for further debate in the years to come. 

Going forward, Herr said the conversations at the Commission should help smooth things over in the future with the Arts Council. Commissioners will have to approve the updated contract.

“The devil’s in the details,” Lockhart said.