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Media contacts: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
For Immediate Release
Ohio Historical Society Cuts Costs, Focuses on Future
(March 16, 2009, COLUMBUS, Ohio) - The Ohio Historical Society today announced cost-cutting measures to streamline operations as it focuses efforts on priority areas of preservation and access to collections and sites, and expanding its services statewide. Because of a more than a 10-percent cut in state funding in the 2009 fiscal year and another 10-percent cut in 2010-2011 biennium, the organization must implement significant operational changes, according to Executive Director and CEO Bill Laidlaw.
"We have put into action a number of cost-saving measures this year, including an upcoming seven-day furlough at the end of the month, but it's just not enough to overcome the loss of state funding," Laidlaw said. "Further actions are needed, including eliminating jobs across the organization and reducing access at the sites we operate by decreasing hours and delaying seasonal openings. Additionally, we will increase our efforts to find local partners to help us manage these sites."
Historic Sites and Museums To Stay Open For Now
To keep 18 of the state memorials and museums it manages open and to allow time to transition daily sites operations to local partners, the Society is using private funds to supplement its state allocations through June 30. However, limited financial support will mean reduced hours at many of the sites, including: Adena Mansion & Gardens in Chillicothe, Campus Martius Museum and Ohio River Museum in Marietta; Flint Ridge near Brownsville; Fort Ancient near Oregonia; Fort Meigs in Perrysburg; Harding Home in Marion; National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center in Wilberforce; National Road/Zane Grey Museum near Norwich; Piqua Historical Area in Piqua; Serpent Mound near Peebles; Wahkeena near Lancaster; Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor in Youngstown; and Zoar Village in Zoar.
Sites will be open during typical periods of the highest attendance. [See separate listing of new hours for OHS-staffed sites. (PDF will load in a new browser window and requires Adobe Acrobat ® Reader).] Accommodations will be made for scheduled school tours and group reservations at these sites. Admission fees will remain the same.
Hours at Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Fort Hill near Hillsboro, Newark Earthworks in Newark and Heath, and the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus will remain the same. Two of the sites, Dunbar House in Dayton and Fort Laurens in New Philadelphia, are in negotiations with potential management partners and hours for the 2009 season have not yet been determined.
Two weeks ago, Laidlaw told a subcommittee for the Ohio House of Representatives Finance and Appropriations Committee that sites staffed by OHS employees may have to suspend operations temporarily if additional dollars or local management partners aren't found by June 30 when the fiscal year ends. The Society requested increased support in the state’s FY2010-11 budgets to help keep these sites open and allow even more time to find partners to manage daily operations.
Laidlaw said, "Our eventual goal is to increase access at these sites by partnering with local organizations for day-to-day management as we already have done at 29 of our sites. We'll engage local support as we transition the operations of these sites over to community groups."
In the Ohio Historical Society network of 58 historic sites and museums-the largest of any state historical organization in the nation-29 sites are currently operated through local partnership agreements between the Society and a local organization or government entity. In such agreements, daily operations are performed by the local partner while the Society provides support services in the form of marketing-communications, maintenance, curatorial and fund raising. Managed partnered sites typically receive an annual subsidy and keep income from admissions, store sales and facility rentals.
Society To Restructure, Reduce Staffing
OHS Board of Trustees recently approved a new business model to be implemented July 1 that will focus on three core functions of collections and sites preservation, access for research and education, and statewide outreach. Laidlaw said, "The board is optimistic that this new plan will help us capitalize on what we do best and to serve our key customer markets. We're in the history business and this new plan will make the most of our core strengths to see us through these tough economic times."
As a part of the restructuring, 25 full and part-time positions have been eliminated: 15 at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus and the remainder at other OHS sites. In addition, 42 employees were notified of changes in their hours.
"The Society regrets losing a number of dedicated, knowledgeable employees," Laidlaw said. "They have our sincerest thanks for their contributions."
Over the last decade, the Ohio Historical Society has had to retrench its operations as state funding declined from a staffing level of more than 400 full-time equivalent staff members in the 2001 fiscal year to 236 full-time equivalents by the end the 2009 fiscal year.
Employees notified today of job losses will receive a severance package, full pay of eligible leave balances and outplacement counseling. They also are welcome to apply for the Society’s position vacancies. All employment categories, from professional and managerial to part-time and support positions, were affected among the total number of positions eliminated.
In addition to the reduction in force, OHS sites and services will be closed from March 28-April 3 for a scheduled furlough of employees as an additional cost-cutting measure. This closure affects only sites operated by OHS staff. Historic sites and museums will be open for visitors beginning Saturday, April 4. Services will resume Monday, April 6. More information about the furlough is available at www.ohiohistory.org/sn/010509.html. Information about individual site hours is available at www.ohiohistory.org/places.
Established in 1885, the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization, serves as the state's partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio's history, archaeology, natural history and architecture. It provides services in nearly every community in the state.
Individuals wanting to help the Society can:
Note: See separate listing of OHS-staffed sites for new hours and seasonal openings. (PDF will load in a new browser window and requires Adobe Acrobat ® Reader).
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