Tulsa’s parks department is scripting a plan to keep a kids’ theatre program running.
The Clark and Heller theatres had $267,000 in funding cut for fiscal year 2015. Parks Director Lucy Dolman says she needs the city council to restore $107,697 of that so reassigned employees can return.
"And that would allow those three staff people to come back and work at Henthorne to continue with the Clark Theatre program," Dolman said. "But while they're gone from that location, we need temps to cover that absence."
Though $107,697 will keep Clark going, Heller participants will have to get by.
"We're going to need to use a lot of adult volunteers for the Heller program, but it will get us by for one year," Dolman said. "It will buy them time to get out and try to figure out what can we do, what is feasible, what's the potential for raising money."
Dolman believes a year is enough time for private groups to step forward and support the program and said citizen councils for both theatres have the will to make the programs work with private funding.
Dolman presented the plan to the city council budget committee today.