MUSKEGON, Mich. — Muskegon Public Schools plans to turn over ownership of the Muskegon Museum of Art to the museum foundation, according to The Muskegon Chronicle.
The district spends $100,000 annually in school operating funds on the museum, The Chronicle reported.
That would change if Attorney General Bill Schuette and the local probate judge agree to a joint petition from the district and foundation to transfer the museum building, art collection, a bequeathed trust and earnings from a second trust fund to the foundation, according to the report.
A trust bequeathed by philanthropist Charles H. Hackley to the Muskegon Board of Education began the collection, and that “picture fund” continues to pay for additions, according to The Chronicle. That fund would be transferred to the foundation, The Chronicle reported.
The district also will continue to give the museum the interest earnings from a separate trust fund as long as the museum continues to provide educational programs for students, according to The Chronicle.
Under the agreement, the museum would agree never to sell or transfer certain “legacy works,” including Edward Hopper's "New York Restaurant” and Winslow Homer's “Answering the Horn,” according to The Chronicle.
SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, “School district, Muskegon Museum of Art going to court over transfer agreement,” Nov. 23, 2011
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “Art Needs No State Subsidies,” Oct. 30, 2009
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