Seminole County finalizes arts funding for 2026

The Seminole County Commission plans to keep funding arts programs in the county, with a focus on getting the money to artists, rather than paying salaries. 

In January, 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. The commission also approved giving the Arts Council $48,881.60 in grant funding for 2026-2027 – twice the budgeted amount of $24,440 for the current fiscal year. 

At the earlier contentious meetings in December and January, commissioners questioned the funding for the Seminole Cultural Arts Council after residents raised concerns that the county was spending money on arts while also raising property taxes and fees. Dozens of residents came and spoke in favor of keeping arts funding as well. 

This week, commissioners approved changes to the contract, including having the county write the checks to grant recipients directly. That move was done to ensure grant funding was not going to salaries. 

“The grand total for the arts program in Seminole County’s budget does not change from the previous meeting,” said Gui Cunha, the director of Seminole County’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism. “The arts grant program, those funds cannot be used for salaries.”

Deborah Bauer, the executive director of the Seminole Cultural Arts Council, said the new contracts are a “win-win” for both the county and the council, and will increase transparency.

“(Seminole County) will cut the check only once the grant award has been made to a specific organization,” Bauer said. “That was another safety we built into it, because I know there was a lot of confusion about if there was grant money being used for things other than grants. And it wasn’t, but we thought this was an opportunity to make it more transparent.”

You can watch video of the meeting here. Want to contact your elected leaders and weigh in on this topic? Find their contact information here. Have a news tip or opinion to share with OCN? Do that here.

The grant window for the Seminole Cultural Arts Council’s 2026 grant cycle opens April 1, and will close May 31. It’s open to 501c3 organizations that have been operating in Seminole County for at least a year. The grants are primarily for arts education, bringing art to underserved communities and to give Seminole County residents access to free arts events. 

In total, Seminole County is expecting to spend $148,881 on arts programs between the Arts Council and Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford. Commissioner Amy Lockhart said she will be keeping an eye on how things go.  

“Speaking for myself, not for the board, I’m looking at this from a year to year basis and seeing how this year goes,” Lockhart said. “We get to choose who we partner with, even though this is other people’s money. This is taxpayer dollars. I will be on this like white on rice.”

In other news, Seminole County: 

• Approved a final plat for the Guava Hole Farms Subdivision, a 27.4-acre zoned A-5 project on the north side of State Road 46, east of Rest Haven Road in Geneva. 
• Approved a special event permit for the Seminole County Fair, running from March 27 to April 5.  
• Approved going after a $315,000 grant to repair a boat ramp on Lake Jesup.