FERRIDAY — The Delta Music Museum will reduce staff and will only be open one day a week following budget cuts directed by officials at the state capital.

The Louisiana Secretary of State’s office — which counts the Delta Music Museum as one of 14 in its inventory — was directed to cut $930,000 from its budget in a mid-year reduction.

While some of that cost will be shared by the election division of the office, $119,000 will come from the museum division.

The Ferriday museum will see the elimination of two part-time positions and a part-time reduction in hours for a third employee.

A Delta Music Museum employee said this week they had been told to refer all questions to the secretary of state’s office.

The state museum division’s total funding has been reduced by approximately $1.65 million since 2008. In 2012, the Delta museum’s days of operation were reduced from Monday through Saturday to Thursday to Saturday.

Secretary of State Tom Schedler said in a news release the state has tried to find ways to partner with local groups to prop up museums that have lost funding. In the Delta Music Museum’s case, the Town of Ferriday provides maintenance for the museum’s grass and landscaping.

“When you outline all of the work we’ve done to avoid closing the doors of our museums it’s easy to understand why this latest round of cuts has taken the wind out of our sails,” Schedler said.

“My message to our staff and supporters (this week) was simple. Anyone or any group that has a specific interest in assisting our museums or outreach efforts in any way should step forward now. My door is open for solutions and every offer will be carefully considered.”

With a mission to collect, preserve and exhibit the musical heritage along the the Mississippi River, the Delta Music museum — located in the former Ferriday post office — is a free admission facility.

Twenty-one musical acts — including among others Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, Jimmy Swaggart, Pewee Whitaker, Percy Sledge and Pete Fountain — have been inducted into the museum’s Hall of Fame. Newsman Howard K. Smith, a Ferriday native, has likewise been received into the Hall.