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Back in 2012, Portland voters approved a tax to restore the arts and music in schools, paying for one arts teacher for every 500 Portland elementary students. More than a decade of taxpayers paying their $35 every year later, the Arts Access Fund has generated about $146 million.
An audit released today by Simone Rede, the city auditor, says the city is not holding up its end of the deal.
“The city has not measured quality arts education nor ensured that grants improve access for students and underserved communities, as it promised arts tax funds would do,” Rede said in a statement.
The document notes that arts education is different for students depending on their school and district. The Arts Access Fund lacks accountability—the city had not established metrics or goals for high-quality arts education until 2024, 12 years after the tax was approved.
The audit also found that there was $1.3 million less available for arts grants in 2024 because the city had overpaid school districts to hire arts teachers. The city calculated the disbursements using the average salary of all teachers, rather than arts teachers, which are generally lower.
For perspective, $1.8 million in grants went to 79 local organizations this fiscal year from the Arts Access Fund. Arts grants go out to local nonprofit organizations, such as theater companies, dance studios, orchestras and choirs.
The audit comes a month after OPB reported that Portland’s arts tax let $9 million go unused for years.
The city outsourced most management responsibilities to the Regional Arts and Culture Council until 2012. It ended its long-standing contract with RACC in July 2024 and launched the Office of Arts & Culture.
The audit makes a dozen recommendations for improvement, including establishing clear goals, shoring up agreements with school districts and strengthening financial monitoring. Raymond Lee, the city administrator, responded to auditor Rede by agreeing with nearly all of the audit’s recommendations. Still, Lee points out that there are major structural problems with the arts tax (collections are flat and it does not increase for inflation, among others) and the city will be “unable to meet its obligations to Portlanders” by 2030.
The audit did not examine the collection practices of the arts tax, so those separate envelopes will continue to arrive in March.
