Rachel Brown
Dalton Daily Citizen
DALTON — Melanie Blanchard said her involvement in 4-H has improved her problems with high blood pressure, helped her overcome shyness and given her leadership opportunities.
“I don’t think I can name (only one favorite thing about 4-H),” she said. “This is like my second home. I would live here if I could.”
Blanchard, a sophomore at Northwest Whitfield High School, is one of 1,200 students in fifth through 12th grade in Whitfield County 4-H and one of 156,000 4-Hers across the state. State legislators are considering eliminating funding for the 4-H program and closing half the 159 Cooperative Extension offices that run it as part of an effort to cut $1 billion from the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The program began 106 years ago as an agriculture and home economics program reaching out to Georgia youth, but today its focus also includes leadership skills, environmental and health studies, and numerous other educational programs. It is funded through the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension System. When lawmakers asked colleges and universities to come up with a collective $300 million in additional cuts for the next year’s budget, 4-H was placed on the chopping block.
The elimination of the program would result in the loss of 116 4-H employees including 94 extension agents, according to a statement from the Georgia 4-H Foundation. The closing of five 4-H centers would mean the elimination of another 85 permanent jobs as well as more than 200 part-time jobs.
Murray County extension coordinator Louis Dykes said there are 1,300 4-Hers in Murray County. Both Whitfield and Murray 4-H have in-school educational programs, agriculture- and consumer-related judging events, speech competitions, summer camps and various leadership and community service activities.
“Nobody even knew it was coming,” Dykes said of the possibility of the cuts. “It was kind of like a bombshell.”
Liliann Sanchez, a local 4-H club president, said both she and Blanchard are heading to a district competition this weekend with the hope they’ll be able to compete again next year.
“4-H has been a big part of my life,” said the Whitfield Career Academy freshman who plans to speak on environmental science. “I’m either at school, at 4-H or at church.”
Whitfield County agriculture and natural resources agent Brenda Jackson said the extension office conducts soil and water testing for residents for a small fee and also answers questions on everything from how to deal with birds in a fireplace to the right time of year to plant tomatoes. The extension service also oversees conservation programs at Tar Creek and McClellan Creek, and she oversees the Master Gardener program locally.
Whitfield County 4-H extension agent Kandi Edwards said she’s been busy this week preparing 4-Hers for District Project Achievement, an annual event in which 4-Hers are judged on presentations and a year’s worth of work on a chosen issue. There’s no time to slow down to bemoan possible budget cuts, she said.
“Until somebody tells me any differently, this is what I’m going to do,” Edwards said.
Rep. Bob Smith, R-Watkinsville, said 4-H is in danger of becoming a pawn in the budget battle.
“It appears that 4-H ... is expendable,” Smith said in a House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. “I hope you and the Board of Regents will consider the impact of that as you go forward.”
University of Georgia President Michael Adams said he has worked hard to support the 4-H, but could not guarantee the program would not be affected.
“I’m all for 4-H, but sooner or later you have to deal with realities,” Adams told reporters after the budget hearing. “There are no cuts left that we want to make. We are down to very difficult decisions.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
