Budget cuts force hiring freeze for university extension

By Ashley Livingston

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 | midnight

Facing recent funding reductions and a proposal to cut even more in the near future, officials from the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension have placed a hold on filling all but the most necessary vacant positions.

As an outreach arm of the University of Nevada, the extension offers free and low-cost courses on topics such as community development, health and nutrition, and children, youth and families.

The extension has 19 offices in the state including the its Lifelong Learning Center in the Silverado area at Windmill Lane and Interstate 215.

Unlike other state education entities, the extension is unique in that it receives funding from numerous sources.

Karen Hinton, dean of the extension, explained that the state provides only about 38 percent of the extension's budget.

The rest comes from the federal government, state counties and from grants given by foundations and various organizations, she said.

While effects of the cuts are not as dramatic as they could be if the extension relied more on the state for funding, officials are still seeking ways to cut corners.

Per mandates made by Gov. Jim Gibbons, a total of $957,960 was cut from the extension's 2007-2009 biennium budget, according to a report from the Nevada System of Higher Education's Budget and Finance Committee's Aug. 7 meeting agenda.

If in its next session the Legislature approves the governor's proposed 14-16 percent cuts, like other entities in the state, the extension could lose even more.

In response to the cuts that have already been made, Hinton said the extension has approximately six positions that it will not fill, several of which are in her statewide office in Reno.

Locally, the director of the Southern Area extension offices, Jill Ukeiley, said the Silverado-area office has two people who work in health and nutrition who will retire in the next year and who will not be replaced.

There will be no effect to programming, she said.

"Whatever programming they were doing, we will have other faculty pick up the slack," she said.

Additionally, Ukeiley said the extension is looking at ways to make its programming more cost effective that include interactive video lessons and consolidating classes so that more people are taught at the same time.

She said the extension is not considering placing a price tag on its numerous free programs and as for the few programs that have a fee (as a matter of cost recovery on materials), the price will not rise.

As for the cuts to the 2009-2011 biennium budget that may be approved, "We won't know exactly how it's going to impact us until that happens," Ukeiley said.

Ashley Livingston can be reached at 990-8925 or [email protected].