County 4-H program to remain mostly intact

Published 10:48 pm Sunday, May 10, 2009

EVERETT — It looks as if the 4-H youth program will keep all of its H’s.

Washington State University Extension faculty were expecting budget cuts of nearly 75 percent, which could have dramatically weakened extension programs such as master gardeners and 4-H.

Now the WSU Extension budget reduction looks more like 20 percent, or about $3 million statewide. As a result, the 10,000 Snohomish County young people involved in 4-H clubs, summer camps and ­after-school events won’t lose their programs. Head, heart, hands and health — the four H’s — remain intact.

While the WSU Extension network took more than its share of state budget cuts, the Snohomish County WSU Extension office will see reductions mostly on the administrative level.

Empty staff positions won’t be filled, there’s no more money for advertising or mailing, and university support and professional development for local faculty will be drastically reduced.

To make up for funding reductions, Snohomish County Extension now will rely more on online services, 4-H director Jana Ferris said.

“We’re going to be changing the way we do business, but we’ll continue to do the business we’ve been conducting,” Ferris said. “We anticipate that the 4-H membership will be relieved. We’re pleased that the university did not make cuts to our programs.”

Mill Creek mother and 4-H leader Lynette Bikos is happy 4-H is continuing in Snohomish County, and so are her children, she said.

“As I’ve seen the results of the budgeting process, I’m pleased with the commitment of those who have fought to continue to support funding for the 4-H program,” Bikos said. “I am also very impressed with the resilience and optimism of our county extension faculty and staff who continue to look for ways to maintain the current quality and quantity of services with fewer resources.”

Most people won’t even notice the cuts to the extension network, Ferris said after taking a closer look at her budget Thursday.

The Legislature passed a budget that requires WSU to cut back by about $54 million. Other university departments were handed budget cuts of 10 percent, but WSU Extension was told to reduce its budget by 20 percent, Snohomish County Extension Director Curt Moulton said.

Statewide, WSU Extension will be restructured, services will be centralized and its nine rural learning centers, the closest being in Mount Vernon, will shut down.

“The cuts might affect the quality of what we do, but our key folks and programs remain in place,” Moulton said. “We’re breathing a sigh of relief.”

Snohomish County WSU Extension works with 1,200 volunteers to keep its programs running, he said.

“I think Extension didn’t get cut as we expected because a lot of our volunteers made it clear to the Legislature and to the university that these are core programs of this land-grant university,” Moulton said. “That really made the difference.

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.