Caledonia Argus

It will be a summer of changes for extension service

Posted: 6/10/03

by Jane Palen
Managing editor

The Houston County Extension Service is braced for some major changes this summer. The extent of those changes has not been determined yet, but one thing is clearóthe extension service as we know it today will not be the same in the future.

Regional extension educator Neil Broadwater, who currently splits his time between Houston and Winona Counties, said that the University of Minnesota Extension Service has been looking at a reorganization ever since the extent of the stateís budget deficit became known. Its objective was to minimize the impact of any cuts and to find a way to continue to provide services.

The first element of the new model for extension includes the development of 18-22 regional centers across the state which will house all the regional extension educators, headed by a regional extension director. The centers will be funded entirely by state and federal dollars.

At the local level, counties will provide only the extension services that they are willing, or able, to pay for. By contracting with the Extension service, counties may hire extension educators, 4-H program coordinators, technical advisors or education assistants. The salaries and benefits will be paid by the counties, but set by the Extension service. The employees would still be considered University of Minnesota employees.

Currently, Houston County pays a portion of the salaries for Broadwater and Holly Kanengieter, a regional extension educator for youth. It also paid a portion of the salary of Bill Halfman, who was a regional extension educator/crops specialist. Halfman recently left the county for an extension position in Wisconsin.

Earlier this year, the county hired Rebecca Price as a 4-H coordinator. Forty percent of her salary is paid by the state and 60 percent by the county. The county budgeted $142,215 for extension for 2003. Rent of about $8,000 per year is included in that amount, as is the salary for the extension service secretary and 40 percent of the salaries of the extension educators that serve the county.

It would be possible for counties to combine resources and share an employee, Broadwater explained. Also, a collaborative could be formed to contract with the extension service for a position or part of a position. That would take some of the pressure off the county, according to Broadwater. Some of the personís time could be devoted to other work.

The first step this summer, said Broadwater, will be for criteria to be established to determine where the regional centers will be located. Broadwater said he expects communities to compete for the centers. He expects that access to high speed technology will be one criteria used to determine locations of the centers. Having technology available will make the services of the regional center accessible through the internet, teleconferencing, and other sources.

Layoffs within the extension service are a possibility, Broadwater noted. Last year, 43 vacancies within the extension service went unfilled.

If counties choose not to fund extension positions, those county extension offices will close.

Also this month, extension educators will get new position descriptions, and will fill out a survey to determine where their interests and abilities lie. This information will be used to make assignments to the regional centers and to counties who make a determination as to what their needs are.

After speaking with the extension service and members of the extension committee, Broadwater says his belief is that 4-H is a priority in Houston County.

ìThe county is certainly going to support 4-H,î said Broadwater. ìWe will have a quality 4-H program. The county wants that. Beyond that, it depends on the budget process and what they feel they can afford.î

A regional center would not handle 4-H activity at the county level, except perhaps to perform some administrative functions.

ìYou need to have a program coordinator to work with volunteers and go to club meetings,î said Broadwater.

ìThe days of having three people in the office at one time are no longer going to be there.î But things change, said Broadwater, and the challenge for the extension service now is to try to serve people the best they can under the new system.

A public meeting, or ìCommunity Conversation,î is scheduled for July 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church to gather community input on the proposed changes and to gauge what the preferences of the community are. In early August, the county extension committee will meet and draft a recommendation to the county board.

Regional centers are expected to open in January of 2004.

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