4-H program survives county budget cuts for another year
December 30, 2009
By Administrator
NEW — 2:48 p.m. Dec. 30, 2009
Snoqualmie Valley 4-H riders won first and second place ribbons at Donida Farms in March. From left, Evanne Webster rides Eazy, her chocolate Rocky Mountain gaited horse and Shannon Barnhart rides Cody, her gray Arab horse. The 4-H program was almost cut from the King County budget, but it received money for one more year after a rally. (Photo by Michelle Twohig)
King County officials nixed a plan last week to put the local 4-H program out to pasture.
A last-minute, $109,000 infusion from the King County Council will keep the program afloat for another year. The youth organization with agricultural roots now includes offerings in everything from plant science to horse riding to robotics.
Local 4-H’ers will also have somewhere to showcase their handiwork: The council allocated $50,000 to continue the King County Fair — the oldest fair west of the Mississippi River.
The Snoqualmie Valley 4-H club may only be 3 years old, but with a membership of 35, Snoqualmie Valley horse trainer Tom Estes said it was one of the largest clubs in the county.
Councilman Reagan Dunn, who represents unincorporated south King County, said the outcry from 4-H participants and parents prompted the council to adjust the budget.
“I’m glad that we were able to scrape together enough funding for another year because 4-H is so important to the youth of my district,” Dunn said in a statement released after the Dec. 14 council decision.
Officials decided to cut money for 4-H as the county worked to fill a $56 million budget gap. After officials announced the cut, however, 4-H supporters rallied to preserve money for the program.
The council noted how the local 4-H program used county dollars to leverage additional support, but without county money, the program would not survive.
The county executive and council make quarterly adjustments to the annual county budget. Officials allocated money for the fair and 4-H through such a supplement after supporters deluged council members with calls, e-mails and letters, asking the council to find money for the programs.
How long 4-H and the fair can be sustained remains uncertain. More cuts are forecast for next year: County officials face a $50 million deficit in 2011.
4-H’ers rally
Officials threatened to cut fair dollars for years, but the decision to eliminate the 4-H program was a new development, 4-H parent volunteer Chris Weber said before the Dec. 14 announcement. Her daughters Callie, 17, and Sydney, 14, participate in the program.
The county 4-H program includes more than 9,000 participants and volunteers, like Callie and Sydney, said Brad Gaolach, King County extension program director for Washington State University.
Far from the rural roots, modern 4-H programs teach children how to raise animals and foster life skills. Participants — known as 4-H’ers — also venture into basic genetics, and learn how to breed certain animals together to isolate and recreate certain genes in offspring.
Callie and Sydney said 4-H makes genetics in high school courses a breeze.
The program also helps the 4-H’ers to envision possible career fields.
Sydney Weber, 14, has autism and 4-H provides a place where she can learn to express herself, make friends and learn life skills to lead her to additional schooling and a career.
“It makes me feel happy,” she said. “I have made lots of friends here. I can also present and show my rabbits.”
County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, who represents Snoqualmie, North Bend and large rural areas in District 3, said 4-H plays a key role in the county.
“We in King County are justifiably proud of our agricultural heritage and ongoing support for local farmers who supply fresh, high-quality, healthy food to our citizens,” Lambert said in a statement released after the Dec. 14 decision. “Supporting our next generation of farmers is a crucial role for us to play if we are to maintain a vital agricultural community in the future.
Impromptu civics lesson
Gaolach — who holds a doctorate in zoology from the University of Washington — sees benefits in 4-H beyond the usual horticulture and livestock programs.
“It’s not just about raising a sheep,” he said. “That’s just the thing that attracts them to the program. They are learning responsibility, citizenship and other life skills by raising that sheep or in our other programs that stress youth development, like our robotics program, hip hop and spoken word. We’re about what actually engages youth.”
Lambert said the council weighed the outcry from 4-H’ers and volunteers when officials threatened to pull funds for the program.
The councilwoman, a former schoolteacher, said the push to restore 4-H dollars provided another valuable lessons: civics.
“In addition to agriculture projects, the youth involved in 4-H learn a lot about civics, such as the flood of testimony they presented about the benefits of the program during our budget deliberations,” she said. “In response, we worked together to keep this important program going next year.”
4-H’ers and Master Gardeners — part of another program eyed for cutbacks — rallied against the proposed cuts Nov. 29 outside Key Arena.
“I think it’s really good they’ve decided to keep 4-H because it means a lot to a lot of children in this county,” Estes said.
Reporters Chantelle Lusebrink and Warren Kagarise contributed to this report.
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