San Diego Arts Grants Lose $11.8M as Mayor Holds Cut Through May Revise; Council Heads to June 9 Vote
San Diego — Mayor Todd Gloria’s May Revise to the FY2027 city budget, released May 13, restored funding for several programs that had been cut in the April draft — including December Nights and some community services — but it left the proposed 85% reduction to arts and culture grants untouched. The result is that as the City Council moves toward its June 9 adoption deadline, the city’s arts grant programs are still set to drop from $13.8 million to roughly $2 million, an $11.8 million cut. The May revision came after a contentious May 6 council hearing where members across the ideological spectrum pressed the mayor’s staff to find money elsewhere — and after weeks of organized public testimony from arts organizations representing hundreds of nonprofits operating in the city.
What the Cut Actually Looks Like
San Diego’s arts and culture grant programs in FY2026 distributed $11.3 million to 189 nonprofit organizations:
- Organizational Support Program (OSP): $9.59 million to 119 arts and culture organizations for general operating support
- Creative Communities San Diego (CCSD): $1.71 million to 70 projects for neighborhood and community arts programming
Under the FY2027 proposal that survived the May Revise, the city’s total arts grant allocation drops to approximately $2 million — a reduction of $11.8 million, or roughly 85%. The cut effectively freezes new grant cycles and either eliminates or drastically reduces ongoing support for organizations including The Old Globe Theatre, San Diego Symphony, El Centro Cultural de la Raza, San Diego Pride, the OB Chili Cook-Off, San Diego Comic-Con, and school music programs.
Barry Edelstein, artistic director of The Old Globe, called out the disproportion at a public hearing: arts faces an 86% reduction, he said, while other city departments face cuts of roughly 7%.
How We Got Here
The proposed cut is part of a broader rebalancing intended to close an estimated $118 million city deficit in FY2027. Mayor Gloria’s office has emphasized public safety, infrastructure, and legally mandated obligations as priorities — meaning sworn police and fire spending was preserved or increased, while discretionary programs absorbed the difference.
The arts cut is the steepest single percentage reduction in the budget. In the May Revise materials, the mayor’s office framed the choices as efforts to protect neighborhood services within constrained resources. By that framing, the city’s arts grants were not among the neighborhood services protected.
San Diego is not alone in this fiscal cycle. CalMatters reporting notes that California cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco have also proposed arts cuts as state-level fiscal pressures cascade down to local budgets. But the depth of San Diego’s reduction stands out.
The Pushback
At the May 6 council hearing where the mayor’s staff defended the cuts, council members pushed back hard.
Councilmember Kent Lee, the former executive director of Pacific Arts Movement, said he cannot envision a balanced budget that excludes arts and culture support. Lee’s perspective carries direct nonprofit-sector experience — Pacific Arts Movement runs the San Diego Asian Film Festival and other community programs.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera pressed the mayor’s office about the budget’s stated commitment to “a world-class city for all,” a phrase from the city’s strategic vision document. After Christopher Ackerman-Avila, the mayor’s senior policy adviser, defended the framing, Elo-Rivera responded flatly: “That is what it says in the document.” The exchange grew tense, with the councilmember saying the strategic-vision language did not mean much.
Council President Joe LaCava has acknowledged that the budget will face criticism on adoption. The job, LaCava has said, is to ensure an open and transparent process so members of the public have a fair chance to make their case.
The arts community has organized public testimony at every budget hearing:
- Martha Gilmer, president and CEO of the San Diego Symphony, told council the cut signals the city does not value arts and culture.
- Ana Hernandez, executive director of El Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park, described the impact on community programming serving historically underfunded neighborhoods.
- Christine Martinez, manager of Arts+Culture:San Diego (the sector’s advocacy organization), said after the May Revise that the mayor did not restore any of the arts and culture funding despite weeks of community advocacy.
Critics have argued arts and culture is not discretionary spending. The sector generated $1.2 billion in economic activity in San Diego in 2022, according to figures cited at the May 6 hearing.
What Happens Next
The City Council has until June 9 to adopt the final FY2027 budget. Several council members have publicly indicated interest in restoring at least some of the arts funding, but doing so requires identifying offsetting cuts or revenue elsewhere.
Public input opportunities continue through the lead-up to adoption. Council budget review hearings remain on the calendar, and public comment can be submitted directly to council member offices. The final adoption hearing is scheduled for June 9.
For the affected organizations, the timeline is tight. Many had already begun planning FY2027 programming on the assumption of continued city support. If the $11.8 million reduction holds, the affected organizations will face decisions about staffing, programs, and seasonal commitments within weeks of the council vote.
Look Out San Diego will continue tracking the arts funding question through the June 9 vote and into the FY2027 fiscal year.
Sources
Primary documents:
- City of San Diego, FY2027 Mayor’s May Revision to the Draft Budget (May 13, 2026) — PDF
- City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, Current Awardees (FY2026 allocations)
Reporting consulted:
- KPBS, “San Diego City Council questions Mayor Todd Gloria’s staff over arts funding cuts,” May 6, 2026
- CalMatters / KPBS, “San Diego guts arts funding to balance budget as California cities make deep spending cuts,” April 24, 2026
- Times of San Diego, “Gloria relents on December Nights, some community cuts in budget revise, but arts funds still on chopping block,” May 13, 2026
- KPBS, “San Diego Mayor’s proposed budget slashes arts and culture funding,” April 20, 2026
By Look Out San Diego Staff. This story was researched and drafted with AI assistance under Look Out San Diego’s editorial standards. All named officials, organizations, dollar figures, and quoted statements verified against the primary source documents and named reporting linked above.