Walters cuts staff, spending

By Tim Smith | tim.smith@baltsun.com | February 26, 2009

Faced with a 27 percent drop in the value of its endowment funds and expected cuts in state and local government grants, the Walters Art Museum announced yesterday a restructuring plan that includes laying off seven of its 150 employees, imposing a salary and limited hiring freeze and staff furloughs, and canceling an exhibition that was to have had the museum collaborating with the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the Getty in Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, Hackerman House, where the Walters' Asian art collection is displayed, was closed weekdays in a cost-cutting move.

"We'll keep up the scholarly exhibits we are famous for, and our family and school programs," said museum director Gary Vikan. "And we will maintain the free-admission policy. The board is wedded to it. They love it, I love it and the staff loves it."

Vikan will take one month of unpaid leave before the museum's fiscal year ends June 30. The furloughs "are all at the top," he said.

The canceled exhibit, slated for spring 2010, would have featured the work of French painter Jean-Leon Gerome. Vikan said the planning for the project had been going on for two years. "But there would have been a $300,000 net loss to us. In normal times, we could have lived with that," he said. "Canceling that exhibit, and losing the chance to work with the d'Orsay and the Getty, was really painful."

The number of donors to the Walters is down slightly, "but what they are giving is up, which is gratifying," Vikan said. The decline in endowment over the past year - it is now in "the low 50s" (millions), the director said - is the major pressure on the budget. The Walters' annual budget of about $14.5 million will be reduced to $12.5 million, Vikan said.

Like other arts organizations, the Walters also faces a substantial reduction in state funding. "There's a cut of 36 percent on the table right now," Vikan said. "That would be a loss of $420,000 for us next year. That's brutal."

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra launched a letter-writing campaign among its supporters yesterday to protest proposed funding cuts; the BSO stands to lose $700,000.

The weakened economy has forced the Baltimore Opera Company to seek bankruptcy protection and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra to suspend operations for the rest of the season. Other groups are experiencing severe pressures, including the Baltimore Theatre Project, which revealed this week that it is in danger of canceling next season.

Robert Rogers, director of the Maryland Historical Society, said six staff members were laid off effective Feb. 18, bringing the staff size to 42. "This was a necessary move to position us during this difficult time," he said. The difficulties include a 31 percent drop in the endowment and a reduction in state funding.

Rogers said he does not expect any other changes to staffing, admission fees or operating hours, although the staff is taking another look at its operating hours.

Baltimore Sun reporter Edward Gunts contributed to this article.



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High Museum cuts salaries and jobs


The High Museum of Art will cut salaries, enforce furloughs and trim 7 percent of its workforce as it weathers the recession and losses to its endowment, it reported Wednesday.

The cuts, plus previous cost-cutting measures, will bring $1.4 million in savings and shrink its operating budget for fiscal year 2009 to $23.7 million, the museum said. Previous budget reductions included a hiring freeze and a ban on non-essential travel, reducing energy use and trimming programming.

The staff cuts come through hiring freezes, redistribution of staff responsibilities and the elimination of five full-time positions and three temporary positions.

Director Michael Shapiro will take a 7 percent pay cut and other director-level employees will take a 6 percent pay cut. All other employees will take a 5 percent pay cut. The cuts will extend through May 31.

Beginning June 1 and extending through fiscal year 2010, salaries will be reinstated, but employees will be required to take 2.6 weeks of unpaid leave.

“As with many non-profit institutions both in Atlanta and across the country, the High Museum of Art has been affected by the economic downturn, experiencing shortfalls in income we receive through donations and membership as well as losses to our endowment,” said Michael E. Shapiro, the High’s Nancy and Holcombe T. Green Jr. Director. “These are challenging times and few decisions are harder than one that involves staff reductions. However, the High needs to take these prudent steps in order to balance its budget and ensure that we can continue our role as the leading art museum serving the Southeast.”

He also noted the museum has operated in the black for the past 15 years and said it will continue to operate without a deficit.

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