Dwindling funds and uneven traffic has forced Farmington’s renowned Hill-Stead Museum to readjust programming and staffing, resulting in its loss of two net positions, authorities say.
Debra K. Pasquale, acting executive director of the 65-year-old, 152-acre nature and cultural preserve at 35 Mountain Road, confirmed Thursday to HartfordBusiness.com that her board cemented the staff and programming adjustments in late April.
Meantime, Hill-Stead’s ongoing search for a permanent successor is timed to yield one by fall, Pasquale said.
Since coming aboard last November, she said she has scrutinized intently the museum’s income and expenses, looking for ways to bring them more in sync.
That has led to some hard choices. A monthly book club program was cut well after the grant that was used to start it had run out.
Staffing has suffered, too, the interim chief said. Seven positions were eliminated, but five new ones were created, Pasquale. Lost, for instance, was a communications director, who was replaced by a public relations manager.
Also, a curator and education director slots were cut, replaced with a single interpretations and programs director.
Hill-Stead’s annual operating budget is about $1.4 million, of which approximately $900,000 is payroll, Pasquale said. As of Thurday, there are seven full-time and 21 part-time employees.
She said the museum, like other other nonprofits and private companies, isn’t immune to the economy. Visitor traffic has been inconsistent lately.
However, Hill-Stead’s core of schoolchildren’s tours of the homestead and grounds once home to the late heiress Theodate Pope and her husband, plus visitors drawn to its regular poetry readings, has remained fairly steady, she said.
“The mission is solid,” Pasquale said, “and we want to protect the house and grounds for future generations.”
