By Saxon Daugherty
Staff Writer
HARRISBURG – Penn State University’s cooperative extension programs, including 4-H, are in danger of shutting down within the next two months due to a lack of state funding.
Morgan Zuck (left) and her sister Dusty lead Morgan’s Holstein calf “Dallas” outside for a break Sunday at the Wolf’s Corners Fair. The Wolf’s Corners 4-H Youth animal features began June 28. The young ladies are the daughters of Bob and Jen Zuck of Tionesta. (Submitted)
All of the college’s agricultural research programs and extensions, which provide critical services to the farming community in all 67 counties throughout Pennsylvania, are paid for by the Land Scrip Fund in the Department of Agriculture’s spending plan.
Gov. Tom Wolf line-item vetoed the $50.5 million worth of funding in the 2015-2016 budget proposal at the tail end of last year, and the balance has remained at zero ever since.
“Should that line item remain at zero, one of the consequences of that would be the likely closure of the county extension offices,” said Chuck Gill, public relations specialist with Penn State’s College of Agriculture Science. “The president of the university spoke to the board of trustees last week and he said we would need to have funding restored by about the beginning of May to avoid these things,” he said.
Unless legislators and Wolf take expedient action to approve funding for Penn State, 1,100 faculty and part-time extension positions would be lost, along with the elimination of 4-H and Master Gardener programs statewide. The Master Gardener and 4-H programs alone have 92,340 members and 9,556 volunteers.
“It’s really with very heavy hearts that we put ourselves even in the position of planning for a phase-out of agricultural research and extension,” Penn State executive vice president Nicholas Jones said.
“This is not something that any of us can remotely conceive given the length, depth and extent of the partnership that has existed between Penn State, the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania’s counties and the federal government,” Jones said.
Leaders from Penn State and other universities such as Pittsburgh, Temple and Lincoln spoke during an appropriations hearing before the House and Senate Wednesday to share their opinion on the situation.
“To discuss future appropriations while still awaiting the current year’s funding is difficult, given that we are looking at a series of damaging impacts beginning with students and extending to programs, employees and the overall economic well-being and future of the Commonwealth due to the failure to come to a budget agreement in the current year,” Jones said.
“We are now eight months into our budget year and our four institutions can no longer fend off the effects of a combined $600 million loss in appropriations,” Jones continued.
Although both parties in Harrisburg have agreed to a 5 percent increase in their negotiations for Penn State, and Wolf’s 2016-2017 proposal suggests another 5 percent increase, no funding has been released.
“I hate to point fingers, but the governor had the opportunity and still does have the opportunity to fund them,” state Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-21) said. “He could come out and say he would sign a supplemental appropriation, but he won’t commit to signing that as a separate item. Actions speak louder than words,” he said.
The General Assembly has historically shown plenty of support for the programs and it continues to do so.
“We are spread out across the state and see the kinds of things cooperative extension does,” Hutchinson said. “My family is involved with 4-H and it touches a lot of people in good ways. It’s a shame we have come to this point,” he said
“They are absolutely tremendous,” state Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-63) added. “The things the students learn in terms of working with animals are great. They learn about entrepreneurship and gain leadership skills. We feel it is important so we are going to keep pushing,” she said.
State Rep. R. Lee James (R-64) said progress is being made on House Bill 1831, which would specifically restore the $50 million into the state’s number one industry.
The bill is currently in the appropriations committee and is expected to be addressed on the House floor in two weeks if nothing changes. In order to pass, the bill would need a simple majority, or 101 votes.
Funds would be released from the general fund into the Land Scrip fund if the bill passes with the simple majority, but James cautioned that it is tied in with other funding to Penn State that was line-item vetoed.
“It’s really in a state of limbo right now,” James said.
Penn State president Eric Barron is holding out hope that the issue can be resolved soon, but either way, the result will have a significant impact on the university and its programs.
“We are at a crossroads, and how our lawmakers ultimately resolve the impasse will determine if Penn State’s mission remains the same, or evolves into something quite different,” he said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.