GILROY
– The county’s 4-H program, facing the chopping block due to
severe budget cuts, has been given another year of life. The youth
development program that teaches children to raise sheep, pigs,
dogs and rabbits, was spared in part due to an anonymous $40,000
donation.
GILROY – The county’s 4-H program, facing the chopping block due to severe budget cuts, has been given another year of life. The youth development program that teaches children to raise sheep, pigs, dogs and rabbits, was spared in part due to an anonymous $40,000 donation.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to spend $80,000 to keep the program and five others that make up the University of California Cooperative Extension. Combined with the donation, the small 4-H staff’s salaries and supplies for next fiscal year will be paid for. But beginning with fiscal year 2005-06, the Cooperative Extension programs themselves, including farm advisors and Master Gardeners, will need to raise their own funds.
“We’re real happy that the county decided to keep us, and I’m glad they filled in what donations didn’t cover,” said Albert Escobar, a community leader for the 55-member Adams 4-H club.
While $80,000 from the county might not sound like a lot of money, Gage said, it is struggling to cut $500 million from next year’s budget.
“A dollar for a cup of coffee is a lot of money when you only have 50 cents,” he said.
As part of the county’s sweeping budget cuts, County Agriculture Commissioner Greg Van Wassenhove was to shrink his $9 million budget by $422,000. He proposed to do that by eliminating the Cooperative Extension, which costs $439,000. The programs had to either stay or go as a whole.
During a March meeting to discuss the future of 4-H and Cooperative Extension, numerous 4-H volunteers criticized the county and UC system for allowing the $20,000 program, which serves hundreds of Gilroy children, to be cut. Children in the program learn skills including animal care, astronomy, woodworking and arts and crafts.
Adult 4-H volunteers asked Gage if they could fund-raise to help save the program that serves 1,000 county youth.
It actually took a change in UC policy to accept the anonymous donation and fundraising proposal. Gage said he was contacted by two parties interested in making donations, but the UC would not allow it because accepting donations or fundraising could put programs in low-income areas at a disadvantage. 4-H clubs in wealthier areas would have a much easier time supporting themselves.
After approaching state legislators for help, Gage convinced the UC that, given severe budget problems, donations and fundraising were the way to go.
The county has been searching since March for other money-saving alternatives that could maintain the entire Cooperative Extension. One of those alone – moving the programs from their current building on Empey Way to a county-owned building on Burger Drive – saves nearly $280,000 in rent a year.
During this coming year, Escobar said he and others are willing to fund-raise to keep 4-H.
“If they say that’s what’s necessary, that’s what’ll have to be done,” Escobar said. “I think the group as a whole will come up with what we need. We need to try as hard as we can to keep it going.”
And, if possible, keep the donations coming, he said, thankful for the $40,000 gift.
Compared to other extra-curricular activities, Escobar said, 4-H is a bargain in terms of registration and event fees.
“If a parent is going to have any kid involved in extracurricular stuff, you can be sure you’re going to be paying quite a bit or fundraising,” he said, “So I don’t think 4-H will be any different with that.”
4-H fees already have gone up this year but are still affordable, he said. For example, registering an animal in an event may cost between $6 and $8. But, given the budget, he expects those will continue to rise.
“I’m hoping next year, if we come up a little short, that they’d help us out again,” Escobar said.
