PORT TOWNSEND — Centrum has cut employees’ pay by as much as 15 percent and reduced the hours they work because of looming state budget cuts.
But Centrum Executive Director Carol Shiffman said officials won’t know until June whether they will be forced to cut further or lay off employees.
“Every single member of our organization and some who are part-time have taken hour reductions and/or salary reductions,” Shiffman said. “Nobody was thrilled, but everybody said OK.”
Centrum is the largest non-profit arts and education agency on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Shiffman said Centrum has awarded only half of the residencies for artists it did last year — down from 70 to 35.
It also cut the directors’ pay between 5 percent and 15 percent, she said. Pay cuts for other employees varied.
Centrum has also canceled its first theater program and will require students to foot 100 percent of the bill for the Summer High School Experience in Creativity, Shiffman said.
Centrum initiated the reductions last month after state lawmakers announced expected funding cuts.
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