In her letter, she suggests that a stipulation be added in order for groups to qualify for funds from Sarasota County’s Tourist Development Cultural/Arts grant program: agree to provide arts experiences and opportunities for students attending Title I schools, which serve some of our county’s most economically disadvantaged families.

While the Arts and Cultural Alliance and all of our member organizations and community partners are in full agreement that we need to do everything possible to support the education of all children living in our county, regardless of income levels, we also need to realize that the usage of certain funds is restricted by state statute.

Such is the case with funds made available through the tourist development tax. In fact, the very same arts and cultural organizations that receive support from the tourist development tax work now, and have worked for many years, hand in hand with Sarasota County Schools and our community partners to provide thousands of arts experiences and opportunities each year for children throughout the school district, including those from Title I schools.

For instance, under the leadership of The Patterson Foundation, we have formed a community partnership composed of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Sarasota County Schools, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, the Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida and the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to bring a leading-edge program called EdExploreSRQ to our local school district.

EdExploreSRQ is dedicated to creating and funding the highest quality arts, cultural and scientific programming for all children in our schools. Each year, through this program, thousands of area students engage in learning experiences provided both in their schools and through visits to local arts and cultural organizations.

Because of the efforts and support of these groups, Sarasota County is one of only a handful of communities in the nation to be invited to participate in the Any Given Child program, sponsored by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In her letter, she suggests that a stipulation be added in order for groups to qualify for funds from Sarasota County’s Tourist Development Cultural/Arts grant program: agree to provide arts experiences and opportunities for students attending Title I schools, which serve some of our county’s most economically disadvantaged families.

While the Arts and Cultural Alliance and all of our member organizations and community partners are in full agreement that we need to do everything possible to support the education of all children living in our county, regardless of income levels, we also need to realize that the usage of certain funds is restricted by state statute.

Such is the case with funds made available through the tourist development tax. In fact, the very same arts and cultural organizations that receive support from the tourist development tax work now, and have worked for many years, hand in hand with Sarasota County Schools and our community partners to provide thousands of arts experiences and opportunities each year for children throughout the school district, including those from Title I schools.

For instance, under the leadership of The Patterson Foundation, we have formed a community partnership composed of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Sarasota County Schools, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, the Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida and the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to bring a leading-edge program called EdExploreSRQ to our local school district.

EdExploreSRQ is dedicated to creating and funding the highest quality arts, cultural and scientific programming for all children in our schools. Each year, through this program, thousands of area students engage in learning experiences provided both in their schools and through visits to local arts and cultural organizations.

Because of the efforts and support of these groups, Sarasota County is one of only a handful of communities in the nation to be invited to participate in the Any Given Child program, sponsored by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.