San Diego Can’t Afford to Cut to Back on Arts Funding

Mayor Gloria’s draft FY2027 budget proposes cutting city arts and culture funding from approximately $11.8 million to under $2 million — ending 38 years of public investment in the arts.  While the city’s deficit is real, eliminating arts funding is not a fiscally sound solution.  According to a report issued by the city the creative economy generates $10.8 billion to San Diego County’s economy and supports nearly 170,000 jobs.  Arts and culture are not a niche expense; they are a proven economic driver. In San Diego, arts-related events — from film festivals to museums to performing arts — attract visitors who spend on hotels, dining, transportation, and retail, directly supporting the city’s tourism economy. But the impact goes far beyond economics. The impact is equally significant in education.  Arts organizations provide thousands of students across San Diego County with in-school programs, after-school instruction, and mentorship opportunities each year.  These programs often fill critical gaps, particularly in under-resourced communities where arts education is already limited. Research consistently shows that students engaged in the arts have higher attendance rates, improved academic outcomes, and stronger social-emotional development. For many young people, the arts are where they build confidence, find belonging, and discover their voice. Cutting these programs does not just reduce budgets — it reduces futures. San Diego’s arts funding has long represented a small fraction of the city’s overall budget, yet it delivers outsized economic, educational, and social returns. Eliminating it will not solve the deficit, but it will create new costs — economic contraction, lost tourism revenue, and diminished opportunities for young people. Mayor Gloria and the City Council still have time to get this right. Restore meaningful arts and culture funding in the final FY2027 budget.

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By: Tonya Mantooth, CEO, San Diego International Film Festival
Published May 4, 2026

Sandra Maas is an Emmy Award–winning broadcast journalist whose career has been shaped by a belief in the power of storytelling to inform, challenge, and inspire change. For decades, she has engaged television and radio audiences across San Diego while championing pay equity and women’s rights. A trustee of the Saiego History Center, Sandra is a driving force behind the creation of the new Center for Women’s History Gallery in Balboa Park—ensuring that women’s stories are not only preserved, but seen, heard, and valued