The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ board voted Thursday to move forward with a plan to close the building for renovations, after being accused by a federal judge of being “derelict” in its duties, according to a new report.
The decision will still require approval from the federal judge who found fault after a review of the closure plan after an earlier vote, the New York Times reported Thursday
President Trump announced in February that the center would close for two years for what he described as a transformation of what he called a “tired, broken and dilapidated” institution.
The board noted that its decision is based on an “independent and objective analysis” by an outside consulting firm, which determined that maintaining the main building’s operations during renovations would be substantially more expensive.
The resolution states the board remains “fully committed” to continuing arts and educational programming during the closure and preserving the “historic and architecturally significant nature” of the main building.
After Trump’s announcement earlier this year, the board quickly endorsed the closure.
However, a Democratic lawmaker on the board filed suit, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the plan in May, ruling that the original vote had been “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.”
Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote that if the center pursued a closure, its trustees had a legal obligation to seriously “consider the potential consequences” of shuttering Washington’s leading performing arts venue.
The future of the Kennedy Center has been in limbo for weeks as its performance calendar remains basically bare.
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