August 28, 2003
REP. JUHNKE CALLS FOR MEASURES TO SAVE 4H
Rep. Al Juhnke held a press conference at the Minnesota State Fair Thursday to call for restoration of funding to save 4-H programs across Rural Minnesota. Juhnke was joined by other rural lawmakers (Rep. Rebecca Otto and Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba), 4-H participants, and a few of their project animals at the Fair's cattle barns.
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NEWS RELEASE
Minnesota House DFL Rural Caucus
State Rep. Al Juhnke, Willmar
651/296-6206
State Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba, Long Prairie
651/296-3201
For immediate release
Contact: Tom Smalec651/296-5524
August 28, 2003
HOUSE DEMOCRATS WARN: 4-H IS IN TROUBLE
Governor's 'no taxes' pledge forces slash in programs, possible fee hikes for rural youth
Minnesota's 4-H programs are in trouble, with budget cuts resulting from Gov. Tim Pawlenty's no-tax-hike pledge threatening to eliminate programs that have taught tens of thousands of rural kids not only the practical side of farming but also important values like diligence and self-reliance, two leading rural DFL lawmakers said while meeting with 4-H kids at the Minnesota State Fair Thursday.
"4-H is about more than a kid learning how to raise a hog," said Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-Willmar). "The projects and activities 4-H supports help prepare rural young people for life. If they happen to choose a career in farming or agriculture, so much the better. But we're at risk of losing a generation of rural young people because of the short-sighted fiscal polices of the Pawlenty Administration - and the financial choices they have forced the University of Minnesota and the
Extension Service to make."
Juhnke, along with Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba (DFL-Long Prairie), said the Legislature needs to find a way to restore stable and adequate long-term funding for 4-H and the entire U of M Extension Service. Legislative researchers estimate about $850,000 is needed to maintain 4-H programs through the current budget cycle, without allowing for routine cost increases and growth.
"We need to put some new ideas on the table because can't just keep pushing costs down to the counties and to farm families," Otremba, a rural educator, said. "We've seen fees skyrocket in many areas of this so-called 'no new taxes' budget - in school programs, in business services and others. I don't want us to have to start imposing hundreds of dollars of fees on these kids."
While there is no specific budget for 4-H, the U of M Extension estimates the program costs about $11 million a year. County governments provide about half of all 4-H funding.
"Counties are facing their own financial difficulties because of state aid cuts," Juhnke said. "County commissioners are going to have to weigh support for 4-H against the costs of fixing roads and running the jail. I'm afraid 4-H is going to lose."
Among the ideas that Rural Democrats want to see discussed are:
* Finding ways to make the U of M Extension more cost-effective without further elimination of
services by partnering with the rural state universities, community and technical colleges for
basics like offices and classroom space.
* Restoring county aids, to enable rural counties to continue supporting 4-H and Extension
programs.
* Expanding 4-H activities to include energy-related fields like windpower or bio-fuels, and tap i
nto money from utility-funded conservation and renewable-energy funds.
"These are ideas we need to look at," Otremba said. "The bottom line is that we are at risk of losing 4-H and all the good things it does for rural kids, and we need to do something to preserve it."
Juhnke and Otremba noted that almost 200,000 Minnesota youth participate in some form of 4-H sponsored activity, along with almost 12,000 adult volunteers working more than a million hours a year.
