UNH Extension in Peril

Steve Taylor
New Hampshire Correspondent

DOVER, N.H. — The University of New Hampshire’s Cooperative Extension is facing the fight of its life to preserve its longstanding commitment to maintaining a full-service presence in each of the state’s 10 counties.

New Hampshire until now has bucked the pattern of the other New England states, which have consolidated and greatly reduced field offices and professional staff at the grassroots. Each of the Granite State’s counties still has an Extension office with program educators in agriculture, forestry, youth development and family and consumer resources backed by specialists based at UNH main campus in Durham.

But that could end soon if a proposed budget prepared by the board of commissioners in Strafford County is adopted. Funding for Cooperative Extension in New Hampshire has long been a three-way split between federal, state and county sources.

The Strafford commissioners have zeroed out the $199,000 budget request for their county’s Cooperative Extension office, along with numerous other funding proposals from social service agencies that have long enjoyed support from county appropriations.

At the root of the cuts in the county budget is a new “tax cap” initiative in Strafford County’s two largest communities, Dover, the county seat, and Rochester, which contribute a major share of the tax dollars that support the county. All New Hampshire counties derive the bulk of their revenue from the property tax, which is collected at the city and town level along with municipal and school district levies.

The county commissioners say they felt obligated to restrain their budget to match the limitations the tax caps are placing on Dover and Rochester. In addition to wiping out support for Cooperative Extension and the social service agencies, the proposed budget slashes 40 positions from various county departments, including the jail and nursing home.

Approval of the final budget is up to the County Delegation, which is comprised of the 37 state representatives elected within the county, and they’re currently on the receiving end of furious lobbying campaigns by all the constituencies who could lose out if the commissioners’ budget is adopted intact. The final vote is likely to come by the end of this month.

Several other New Hampshire counties, all of which are beset by budget woes this year, are watching the Strafford County situation unfold. Extension officials fear a wipeout in Strafford County could encourage other counties to follow suit.

“There are so many extraordinary forces at work this year making it the most difficult budget cycle I’ve ever seen,” says Dr. John Pike, dean and director of UNH Cooperative Extension.

“But our Extension Council in Strafford County is going all out to make certain the delegation members understand the importance and value of Extension to the people of their county.”

A 14-member council in each county serves as liaison and advocates for Extension with county officials. Under memoranda of understanding between UNH and the county governments a fully staffed Extension office will be maintained in every county.

While the costs of operating county Extension offices have traditionally been divided about one-third each between federal, state and county appropriations, lately the counties have been picking up more of the tab. In the case of Strafford County, the $199,000 request this year is close to two-thirds of the $300,000 projected total cost of the Extension presence.

Pike is also struggling with budget problems at the campus level. UNH has seen state appropriations cut back by action of Gov. John Lynch, who is dealing with a state deficit estimated to run as high as $500 million by the next budget cycle, and the university’s endowment income has shrunk by 25 percent. These shortfalls are affecting all segments of the university, he says.