My Two Cents is a weekly opinion column from Bethesda resident Joseph Hawkins. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BethesdaNow.com.
Earlier this month, I pointed out that Strathmore was not profitable, and for the year 2012, the venue lost $2,942,945.
Prior to running my original Strathmore piece, I sent several emails to Strathmore requesting input. I received no official input. Last week, Eliot Pfanstiehl, the Strathmore CEO, contacted me with correction. His email appears below.
I was wrong about the dollars. In 2012, Strathmore lost $745,047, not $2,942,945. And for 2013 — which I said nothing about — Strathmore actually turned a profit of $517,763. I didn’t write about the 2013 numbers because earlier this month, those figures were not posted to the Strathmore’s website.
But let me point out here that the real purpose of my earlier May piece was to raise questions about another music venue coming to Rockville Pike, and if Strathmore should manage this new venue.
On that issue, I stand firm. I’m simply not convinced Rockville Pike needs another music venue. And in my humble opinion, Strathmore needs to focus its attention on Strathmore proper and not an annex up the street.
The email from Pfanstiehl is after the jump.
Mr. Hawkins,
I appreciate your interest in Strathmore and applaud you for reviewing our posted financial reports. It is important to us that this information is always available to the public. However, it is also important to me to point out the information you presented was incomplete, and therefore painted an inaccurate picture of Strathmore’s financial situation. I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight on a few pieces missing from your assessment.
You cited that in FY 2012, Strathmore operated at a deficit of $2,942,945. This figure neglects to account for contributed income, which significantly lessens the deficit, bringing it to $1,022,637. Further still, a portion of the remaining deficit was due to investment losses from a soft economy — market conditions beyond our control. Our actual loss for FY 2012 was $745,047.
Although the column did include a quote from Strathmore’s annual report to explain the loss of investment income contributing to the deficit, that excerpt was truncated. It left out important language noting that our reserves were significant enough to absorb the loss we experienced that year.
Moreover, it is important to note that in FY 2013 we were able to turn that financial picture around and posted a $517,763 gain.
Lastly, I want to address a response one of your readers wrote in their blog citing your numbers and expressing concern that the Strathmore Student Concerts are in part supported by Montgomery County Public Schools. To clarify, MCPS funded $517,200 for five years of concerts for 10,000 2nd and 10,000 5th graders. This curriculum-connected partnership has impacted over 80,000 students over that period of time and the cost of the program is roughly twice the amount contributed by MCPS. Strathmore annually seeks private and corporate contributions to attempt to offset the remaining expenses and uses our own funds to support the continuation of this annual program. Contributions from MCPS in no way subsidize Strathmore’s general operating budget.
I hope that these additional details have alleviated some of your concerns about our fiscal health and responsibility. We remain deeply committed to maintaining affordable and accessible arts programs and to providing a home for the arts in our community. County government funding of any kind represents a very small percentage of our operating budget.
Regards,
Eliot Pfanstiehl
Joseph Hawkins is a longtime Bethesda resident who remembers when there was no Capital Crescent Trail. He works full-time for an employee-owned social science research firm located Montgomery County. He is a D.C. native and for nearly 10 years, he wrote a regular column for the Montgomery Journal. He also has essays and editorials published in Education Week, the Washington Post, and Teaching Tolerance Magazine. He is a serious live music fan and is committed to checking out some live act at least once a month.
