Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
San Bernardino Sun
Supervisor James Ramos is leading the charge in an effort to save jobs and programs at the San Bernardino County Museum, which stands to lose its accreditation due to budget cuts.
The museum lost out on $766,000 in state and federal funding this fiscal year, roughly 50 percent of its projected revenue of $1.8 million, county Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux said at a budget hearing last week, when the Board of Supervisors adopted a $4.4 billion budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Ramos said the museum system is a "vital asset" to county residents and tourists, and that it is crucial for the museum to think creatively as the state and federal funding it has depended on for many of its programs dries up.
The county museum system consists of the main museum in Redlands, which is in Ramos' 3rd District, the Victor Valley Museum and Gallery in Apple Valley and seven historical sites in the San Bernardino Valley and the High Desert.
"What we need to do is create a revenue-generating model and work with the museum association and museum commissioners to make sure we're all on the same page with a plan," Ramos said Friday.
He said he'll help arrange meetings with museum officials and the county Economic Development Agency to draft a revenue-generating plan.
"I'm hoping to get this done within the next three months," Ramos said.
The museum initially stood to lose 13 positions, but Devereaux said he was able to save five of them by pulling together $550,000 in "bridge funding," which buys the museum another year to figure out how to generate other sources of revenue.
Devereaux said the museum will probably end the year $500,000 in the red, which means the county would have to dip into its reserves to cover the loss.
The staff reductions will result in significant cuts to services and programs the museum has traditionally provided.
Among the amenities that will be lost are the live animal exploration station in Redlands, educational outreach programs for elementary, middle and high school students, the Museums on the Roads and Geological Sciences programs, and weekend programing.
The museum in Redlands also will no longer have security guards.
County Museum Association President Robert Christman said the museum now has roughly 30 employees, but will definitely lose its accreditation in 2015 if it loses nine to 13 employees.
Accreditation, Christman said, had enabled former Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, to secure grants for the museum.
"If we lose our accreditation, all that goes away," Christman said.
