News - Local News

POSTED: Thursday, Jun. 18, 2009

WSU extension cuts to have minimal impact in Whatcom County

BELLINGHAM - Washington State University's Whatcom County extension office may face some challenges in the year ahead as a result of budget cuts by both the county and WSU.

But Craig MacConnell, extension director, said he hopes that the impact on the public will be minimal.

"We've been here since 1916," MacConnell said. "I suspect we're going to be here for another 90-plus years."

Earlier in the year, MacConnell said, extension offices across the state were told their budgets might be cut by 50 percent or more as WSU and other state universities struggled to balance budgets. Extension office users around the state contacted WSU administrators to plead for a better deal, and in the WSU budget announced Wednesday, June 17, the cuts amounted to about 20 percent statewide.

MacConnell said the local office may be able to add new programs in the months ahead, thanks to availability of grant funding.

The extension offices provide information and education to professional farmers and home gardeners, while also offering a wide array of environmental, nutrition and health programs and services.

MacConnell said the local office will hit its budget target by leaving some vacant staff positions unfilled. That includes the county-funded master garden program coordinator. Jill Cotton recently resigned from that position.

MacConnell promised that the 34-year-old program, which provides advice and information to home gardeners, will continue.

"It's a very valuable program in the community," MacConnell said. "The master gardener program is not going away."

But in Skagit County, the WSU Learning Center will go away at the end of the month. Among other things, WSU learning centers provide support services to students who take WSU courses online, and all nine of those centers across the state are being eliminated to make ends meet.

Debra Lancaster, coordinator of the Mount Vernon center, said the shutdown will have an impact on 37 Whatcom County residents enrolled in WSU's distance learning programs. Those students will no longer be able to go to the center for free proctoring services when they need to take a test. The center also has offered occasional open-house events that enable online students to meet instructors and advisors visiting from WSU's main Pullman campus, while also getting acquainted with other students.

The students still can complete their online studies, Lancaster said, but they may need to pay a small fee for proctoring services at local public schools or Whatcom Community College. And they won't have the same opportunities to meet WSU staff in person.

Lancaster said she feels bad for those students as well as for herself. She needs a new job.