Financial malaise, poor supervision and uncertainty about money. It is a number of things that have ensured that Muziekcentrum Scala was forced to stop in 2023.
This is apparent from a new report from the Court of Audit in Hoogeveen. About two years ago, Scala applied for the bankruptcy because it could no longer pay the bills. At the request of local politics, researchers have selected how things could have happened.
The music center, which also offered theater and dance lessons, was active in Hoogeveen, De Wolden, Meppel, Westerveld and Steenwijkerland. Together, the municipalities transferred a subsidy to Scala for years.
According to the Court of Audit, the municipalities did not properly check how that money was used and where it went. That was a first mistake. Subsequently, the subsidies for the Music Center were cut in 2021.
Scala wanted to anticipate that change by splitting the organization. A part for music lessons at school (culture click) and the other for lessons outside of school (Scala). With the latter they would earn money via the commercial route.
The Court of Audit states how that unbundling turns out. The municipalities say that at the time the board of Scala was not transparent about the chance of success of this plan. Vague reports also flow into the financial situation of the music center.
All information bases the Court of Audit on discussions with aldermen, officials, teachers and board members involved in Scala.
It becomes clear that culture click will continue to receive a subsidy for the lessons at school. Municipalities are increasingly undressing the amount for the out -of -school offer (SCALA). At the end of 2022 it soon becomes apparent that this will mean the end of the music center.
The financial situation is no longer sustainable and the number of students is declining. The municipalities do not want to put their money in a bottomless pit. They think especially of their own money and less about the future of the cultural offer in the region, the Court of Audit states.
And the researchers put a comment on that. They also appeal to the Hoogeveen city council, for example. Because when there was an agreement to cut back, too little thought about what consequences that would entail for Scala.
But the board of the Music Center is also addressed on their actions. Too little would have been thought about the new situation after the split. There was no good plan. “The picking up of the cutbacks has not proved realistic,” writes the Court of Audit.
They would also have underestimated the changes and did not put business operations in order for the researchers. The board that was about the split at the time was approached by the Court of Audit for more information, but did not comment on that.
Hoogeveen wants to prevent a similar situation in the future and hopes to be able to learn from the report. The Court of Audit therefore makes a number of suggestions to politics to prevent problems in the future.
For example, by thinking carefully what consequences can mean for an organization. If a subsidy is requested for culture, see if the money is used for that purpose. Stricter checks can then work. Even if municipalities work together, there may be clear rules for supervision.
Hoogeveen announces that it takes those improvements. However, the municipality will return briefly when the city council decided to cut back. Hoogeveen was struggling with financial malaise a few years ago, so a cut had to be made.
A big challenge that had to be acted quickly writes the municipal administration. If that had not been the case, then the municipality could have paved the consequences of a cut in, for example, Scala, for example.