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This page serves as an ongoing source of information about the City's work to strengthen the Arts Access Fund, including progress on the audit recommendations, implementation milestones, and additional context about longer-term issues affecting the fund on this page.
Portlanders deserve clear information about how Arts Tax dollars are managed, what changes the City has made following the 2018 Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) audit, and what actions are being taken to strengthen the Arts Access Fund in response to the 2026 audit.
Understanding the Audit: Context and Timing
On March 18, the City Auditor's Office published the 2026 Arts Access Fund audit, outlining findings, recommendations, and opportunities to strengthen the City's arts funding, oversight, and public accountability. The City agrees with most of the Auditor's recommendations and is already implementing many of the changes, including stronger oversight, coordination, and reporting:
- Read the full audit findings — City Auditor, March 2026
- Read City Administrator Lee's response to the audit
- Explore previous audits
Following the 2018 audit of RACC, the City assumed more direct administrative responsibility of arts services through a deliberate, multi-year transition. The establishment of the Office of Arts & Culture in July 2024 marked the completion of that transition. Many of the gaps identified in the audit are the same challenges the Office was created to address.
The audit covers August 2024 through October 2025, a period shortly after the Office of Arts & Culture's creation. Notwithstanding, the Office had already begun addressing several areas of concern before the audit was published, including the absence of arts education metrics, the lack of a grants plan, and unclear financial monitoring responsibilities. The audit does not suggest these conditions were created by the current Office; rather, it reflects broader systems the Office was established to help improve.
City's Progress on 2026 Audit Recommendations
Recommendation 1
"To ensure that the City can effectively monitor how districts provide arts education to Portland students, the Office of Arts & Culture should: Continue its work to pilot and implement the Arts Education Framework and relevant goals and metrics, including for arts teacher-to-student ratios, arts teacher caseloads, average arts class sizes, average number of arts instructional minutes, and district funding for arts education."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: Development of the Portland Arts Access Fund Framework (Framework) began in the 2024-25 school year and will be fully implemented in the 2026-27 school year. Intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with participating school districts were updated in 2025 to incorporate the Framework. Districts are required to complete annual data collection each December, including a district-level survey and individual school-level surveys.
The audit recommendations support expanded reporting and reinforce the work the Office of Arts & Culture is advancing through the Framework, which defines and assesses the conditions necessary for an excellent elementary arts education.
Recommendation 2
"To ensure that the City can effectively monitor how districts provide arts education to Portland students, the Office of Arts & Culture should: Propose updates to intergovernmental agreements to include the Arts Education Framework and district reporting requirements and monitor districts' performance accordingly. Reporting requirements should ensure that districts gather and share timely and accurate information to help the City's monitoring and the Oversight Committee's public reporting."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: Much of the work related to recommendation 2 was completed in 2025, with district performance monitoring ongoing.
IGAs with school districts were updated in 2025 requiring schools to complete an arts education building-level Framework survey by December 1 of each year, and for district leadership to complete a district-level Framework survey by December 31 of each year. In 2025, all districts completed the Framework survey on time. Beginning in school year 2026-27, the Office of Arts & Culture will analyze and present the Framework data in a publicly available dashboard by June 30 of each year.
Recommendation 3
"To help ensure sustainable grantmaking and fair compensation for school districts: The Revenue Division should work with the Office of Arts & Culture to develop clear guidance to specify allowable employer-paid payroll costs, communicate those to districts, and monitor districts' compliance accordingly.
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: 2026–27 school year, with ongoing monitoring.
The Revenue Division is clarifying allowable employer-paid payroll costs, communicating those to districts, and monitoring districts' compliance accordingly. Clarifications are intended to support more consistent district reimbursement practices and provide greater clarity in how school funding is administered.
Recommendation 4
"To help ensure sustainable grantmaking and fair compensation for school districts: The Office of Arts & Culture should work with the Revenue Division to propose updates to intergovernmental agreements to: (a) Include details on allowable employer-paid payroll costs; and (b) Ensure the City's disbursements to districts cover the average salary of one arts teacher for every 500 students and maximize Arts Access Funds available for grants."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: September 2027, with initial IGA updates completed by September 2026.
Following work under Recommendation 3, the Office of Arts & Culture will revise school district agreements to include guidance on allowable employer-paid payroll costs by September 2026. After that, the Arts & Culture and Revenue Division will study possible revisions to the school district funding formula during 2026–27, with a revised formula to be implemented for the 2027–28 school year and school district IGAs updated accordingly.
The Arts Access Fund Oversight Committee raised issues related to broader factors affecting the long-term sustainability of the Arts Access Fund in its 2025 annual report and recommended that City Council consider indexing the tax to inflation.
Recommendation 5
"To ensure and demonstrate that Arts Access Fund grants improve arts access for students and underserved communities and advance program goals, the Office of Arts & Culture should: Define what constitutes an underserved community with respect to arts access and use existing or newly gathered data to identify those communities."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: June 2028, with a preliminary definition that uses limited existing data as of June 2026; collection of new data from grantees and schools will be ongoing from July 2026 through December 2027.
Clearly defining what constitutes an underserved community with respect to arts access is an important priority for the City. Existing data is limited, but there do appear to be some geographic disparities in that most arts and culture grantees are located in, and most arts and culture experiences occur in, District 4. New data from the Operating Support program and the Arts Education Framework will help strengthen this definition over time. A preliminary definition is planned for June 2026, with a more data-informed definition by June 2028.
Recommendation 6
"To ensure and demonstrate that Arts Access Fund grants improve arts access for students and underserved communities and advance program goals, the Office of Arts & Culture should: Work with the Grants Management Division to develop an Arts Access Fund grant plan to improve arts and culture access for students and underserved communities and align funding with the plan."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: June 2026.
An Arts Access Fund grants plan will be finalized by June 30, 2026, before the FY2026-27 grant cycle begins. Per the City's Outgoing Grants Administration Policy (FIN-6.17), these plans are required to outline the purpose, provisions, criteria, goals, outcomes, and other requirements of all City grants. All future Arts Access Fund grants will be aligned with this plan.
Recommendation 7
"To ensure and demonstrate that Arts Access Fund grants improve arts access for students and underserved communities and advance program goals, the Office of Arts & Culture should: Work with the Grants Management Division to document the City's purpose, priorities, and strategies for the General Operating Support program, and develop program outcome metrics that align with the purpose and performance metrics best practices."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: June 2026.
For more than 30 years, the City has remained committed to General Operating Support and providing unrestricted grants to established arts organizations in the community. Because City General Fund dollars are now braided with Arts Access Fund dollars to provide this support, ensuring these grants align with the goals and requirements of the Arts Access Fund is a priority. National best practices have been reviewed, community input has been gathered, and the program is being redesigned. A new plan, including updated program outcome metrics, will be completed by June 30, 2026, before the FY2026-27 grant cycle begins.
Recommendation 8
"To ensure and demonstrate that Arts Access Fund grants improve arts access for students and underserved communities and advance program goals, the Office of Arts & Culture should: Work with the Grants Management Division to collect data to measure and evaluate how Operating Support grants advance the purpose of the program."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: June 2028.
The Grants Management Division's Reporting Guidance has been in use across grants and contracts since FY24-25 and will continue to inform the development of new Operating Support program outcome metrics by June 30, 2026. After a new round of Operating Support grants is awarded by October 30, 2026, data collection can proceed and will be completed by October 30, 2027, and allow the City time to analyze findings and adjust program plans as needed by June 30, 2028.
Recommendation 9
"To ensure and demonstrate that Arts Access Fund grants improve arts access for students and underserved communities and advance program goals, the Office of Arts & Culture should: Propose updates to City Code to reflect: (a) The Arts Education Framework; (b) Changes to the disbursement calculation and allowable employer-paid payroll costs; (c) Underserved communities with respect to arts access; (d) The Arts Access Fund grant plan; and (e) The purpose of the General Operating Support program."
Response: Disagree
Implementation timeline and progress: Any administrative rule updates would follow completion of the other recommendations, the last of which is targeted for June 2028.
The City supports documenting the proposed updates but does not agree that all of these elements should be codified in Portland City Code. Administrative Rules are better suited to define the administrative functions of City bureaus, and that path will be pursued as the underlying work is completed.
Recommendation 10
"To effectively monitor Arts Access Fund partners and ensure the Fund is used as intended, the City should: Define monitoring roles and responsibilities for the Revenue Division, the Office of Arts & Culture, and the Grants Management Division, including specifying: (a) Where districts should report Arts Access Fund rollover; (b) Who is responsible for monitoring partners' financial reports, what City reviews of partners' financial reports should entail, and how to handle noncompliance; (c) Who is responsible for confirming districts use Arts Access Funds as required and monitoring the teacher-to-student ratio; and (d) How the City will ensure that the responsible parties perform their monitoring duties."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: September 2027.
Most of the work outlined in Recommendation 10 was completed in 2025, when IGAs with school districts were updated and Arts Access Fund monitoring expectations were clarified and strengthened to support a clear division of responsibilities between relevant City bureaus.
- Rollover reporting (10a): IGAs were revised in 2025 to specify that districts provide a memo identifying any rollover amounts to the Revenue Division.
- Financial monitoring and noncompliance (10b): Districts' Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports are collected and reviewed alongside rollover memos, verifying that documentation is submitted on time, that expenditures align with allowable IGA uses, and that discrepancies are identified and resolved.
- Teacher-to-student ratio (10c): The FTE-to-student ratio is monitored to confirm districts meet or exceed the 1:500 requirement. All districts have consistently met this metric.
- Accountability structure (10d): Prior to completion of Recommendations 3 and 4 in September 2027, the City Administrator will issue a formal memo adopting monitoring rules and responsibilities and establishing an accountability structure across the relevant City divisions.
Recommendation 11
"To ensure effective and consistent oversight of the Arts Access Fund: The City should clarify the Oversight Committee's role, authority, independence, and dedicated City staff support to help ensure: (a) The Committee has an adequate number of members who represent the City's diverse communities; (b) The Committee's public reporting provides timely, transparent, high-quality information about expenditures and impact of the Arts Access Fund without placing an undue burden on Committee members."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: December 2025; alignment with Advisory Bodies Enhancement Project is ongoing.
Staffing needs for the Arts Access Fund Oversight Committee (AOC) were identified and addressed in 2024, and roles and responsibilities were clarified and documented in collaboration with the Committee. The AOC was fully staffed and operating under aligned practices throughout 2025, with updated bylaws executed in December 2025.
The City's Advisory Bodies Enhancement Project is developing guidelines and protocols for all City advisory bodies, covering role, authority, independence, and necessary resources. Advisory committees are anticipated to be in aligned practice by the end of 2026.
Recommendation 12
"To ensure effective and consistent oversight of the Arts Access Fund: The Office of Arts & Culture should propose updates, as appropriate, to agreements with partners, City Code, and Committee materials to reflect the Committee's clarified oversight role, responsibilities, independence, authority related to City actors and partners, and the City's support of the Committee. Updates should reflect the new Arts Access Fund management structure."
Response: Agree
Implementation timeline and progress: September 2026.
AOC roles and responsibilities were clarified in 2025, and committee materials and bylaws were updated by December 2025. School district IGAs will be updated to reflect alignment with the bylaws and City Code for the 2026-27 school year by September 2026.