Portland officials have for years mismanaged the city’s arts tax program and provided insufficient oversight, undermining its efficacy and promises made to voters who approved its creation in 2012, the city’s elected watchdog said in a damning report published Wednesday.
City Auditor Simone Rede said the program, which provides millions of dollars annually to public schools and nonprofit organizations, has failed to measure the quality of arts education offered in classrooms or ensure improved arts access for students and underserved communities.
City officials, meanwhile, have been unable to track how some arts tax recipients have used program dollars because they’ve not enforced financial reporting requirements. Auditors also found that Portland doled out substantially more money to schools than it should have, leaving fewer funds available for cash-strapped arts groups…