Far too often, the arts have resembled the bastard stepchildren of academic disciplines in public schools in our Valley, state and nation. Many times over, they have been convenient targets for neglect and underfunding.

Indeed, school districts throughout the state and nation have been forced to cut staff and financial support in recent years for programs in the visual arts, marching band, concert band, vocal music, drama and dance because of tight budgets, inflationary pressures and a greater state and national focus on other disciplines, particularly on the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Those trends are unfortunate as research has shown that education in the arts improves student social-emotional well-being, keeps students in school, increases the graduation rate, boosts academic performance, and adds to students’ ability to create, collaborate, think critically, and communicate. In short, arts education in schools and community institutions enhances individual creativity and achievement in other more traditional school disciplines as well.

Fortunately, it appears state officials and lawmakers understand that, too. The Ohio Arts Council announced last week it is awarding a record $22.7 million in arts grants this year — 935 of them to Buckeye State artists and arts organizations including schools.

Money was granted for operating support, project support, statewide arts service organizations, arts learning and artist programs.

Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, which received a $1,304 arts sustainability grant, was the lone Trumbull County award recipient this year, although a $15,266 grant awarded to Students Motivated by the Arts (SMARTS) in Mahoning County will benefit programming and instruction in Liberty schools.

Other Mahoning Valley community arts programs that cater heavily to young people throughout the region with educational programs received fair shares of support as well. They include the Butler Institute of American Art, which received a $122,908 award; and Ballet Western Reserve, which received $14,741.

“(The grant awards) mark a significant step in the OAC’s ongoing commitment to directly fund arts programming in all 88 Ohio counties,” the state’s arts agency said in a statement last week in announcing the awards

In many cases, those funds will be combined with other funding sources to continue bolstering a vital building block for our students’ and our communities’ well-being. We also urge school policymakers and administrators to continue to seek out other grant opportunities available from many sources to ensure a well-rounded curriculum that includes comprehensive arts instruction.

For now, we salute the OAC and the state legislators who approved significant increases in the council’s budget this year for taking seriously the valid concerns over the need for stronger arts curriculum in our public and charter schools.

That momentum both on the state and local levels must not be allowed to falter. After all, the arts deserve a rightful place at the table of our children’s formal K-12 education.