Professor Elam

Wed Sept 5 2012

I have made several posts about the puzzling sad state of the non profit arts in San Antonio.

 MY first post on the Symphony was October 8, 2011.  We also noted the irony of spending $195 M on the Tobin Center, supposedly to house groups like the Symphony, which was draining funds from you guessed it, the symphony. 

On June 18 2012 we examined the bankrupt San Antonio Opera  as well as a look back at multiple articles on the Alameda Museo, yes the one that TAMUSA is taking over.  Be sure to check out the article on the Opera the day before that June 17 2012.

We looked at the Briscoe Museum  as costs escalated from the high teens to $30 M, and still climbing. 

But today the Symphony is in the news again. Current debt is about $850,00. Now here is a funny for you. The Symphony musicians have asked the National Labor Relations Board to determine if the symphony underpaid them. They want $225,000 in wages they say are owed, that of course the Symphony does not have or it would have paid them. Where they expect the money to come from I cannot imagine. 

As accountants you will no doubt eventually be involved witha  non profit. Plan to ask the hard questions before things head south. Clearly that never happened in any of the instances I cite. 

This would be an hilarious sitcom if it were not real. Someone takes an otherwise perfectly service able City Auditorium and spends an whopping $195 M to have a REAL Performing Arts Center. Then the Opera goes broke, the symphony is in the red and bickering with musicians and having trouble raising money as the Tobin Center itself is gulping down donations.  The Opera went toes up.

Meanwhile the SA Met Ballet has a workable business model. The dancers are students  are not paid a salary. Ballet stars are featured in production and they act as mentors for the students. Perhaps there is a lesson here for other aspiring arts groups!  This is work able model that beenfits its participants and the community.