To the Editor:

In the Friday, Nov. 22, edition of the Daily News, a caller to Sound Off asked how much the Estuarium budget was cut this year by the N.C. Legislature. The answer is two-fold.

The Partnership for the Sounds is the governing organization of the Estuarium and for years has received state funds to operate the Estuarium and several other facilities. Of that appropriation, just over $200,000 has been applied annually to the Estuarium. In this year’s state budget, however, the entire Partnership appropriation was cut, thus eliminating that source of funding for the Estuarium.

But in a separate appropriation within the state budget, the Estuarium received $58,000 through the NC Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative.

Taking these two factors into account, the Estuarium’s state funding was cut by around $150,000 this year.

Jackie Woolard

Executive Director

Partnership for the Sounds