Petition to the Township of South Orange Village Board of Trustees and the Department of Personnel of the State of New Jersey to maintain the position of the Assistant Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs (sole cultural-arts professional), in order to preserve the integrity of South Orange's Arts Programs. Petition Summary and background: The layoff of the position of Assistant Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs will diminish the integrity of South Orange’s long-standing arts and cultural affairs programs thereby inflicting long-term damage to the Village’s appeal and identity. Our reputation as a committed, active arts community would lack credibility and real-estate agents, businesses and residents could no longer tout the arts as a major appeal and top selling point of living in South Orange. The Pierro Gallery, classes and concerts that teachers throughout the SOM school district use to supplement curriculum will no longer be available. Without the dedicated leadership of a qualified, full-time arts professional, all arts and cultural affairs programs are at risk and the well-established brand of The Baird will suffer. Finally, if this layoff is approved, it jeopardizes The Baird’s eligibility for funding from the NJ State Council on the Arts grant, since the programs it cites will not exist in their current forms, if at all! Action petitioned for: We, the undersigned residents of South Orange and surrounding communities, urge the Board of Trustees to act now to preserve the integrity of the arts in the village by maintaining the position of Assistant Director of Recreation & Cultural Affairs.

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