Proposed Cuts To UW Extension Come Up During FDL County Board Meeting

Questions came up at the Fond du Lac County Board meeting last night when members of the UW-Extension gave their annual report, but they had nothing to do with the report. Supervisor Marty Ryan wanted to know how proposed cuts to the UW System would affect the services the Extension provides to the County. County Executive Al Buechel assured supervisors that he had been told by leaders at the UW Extension that the County had nothing to worry about. He says counties that support the UW Extension will have much more latitude and won’t feel the impacts of cuts as much. He says Fond du Lac County has been a friend to the UW Extension. In fact the County provides 40 percent of the funding for the UW Extension. UW Extension Dairy and Livestock Educator Tina Kohlman says County positions across the state in the Extension may be cut or not filled which may lead to combining positions for multiple counties like her position originally started out sharing time with Sheboygan County. She says the exact impact won’t be known until the state budget is approved.