Director of the UC Cooperative Extension office in Yolo County, Kent Brittan, has found a way to maintain the jobs of county-paid staff even as the Board of Supervisors cut the organization's budget 11.4 percent compared to last year. The five people will each cut their hours - and therefore their pay - by 20 percent, according to a story in the Davis Enterprise.
That means no one loses a job, but also that the Woodland UCCE office will be closed on Mondays. The reduced schedule will affect all extension programs, from the county's 4-H program to pest control on farms and at the Davis Community Gardens, Brittan said told reporter Jonathan Edwards.
"That affects research projects, that affects people's salaries — it's a huge impact to the university," Brittan was quoted. "It will be a huge number by the time we're done. And it's not just this year — it's going to be next year and the year after that. It's going to take the state a number of years to crawl out of this."
The article notes that the 11.4 percent budget cut is to the county's fraction of the total UCCE budget. Academics' salaries and supplies are financed with $1.6 million from UC and USDA.
"Both the county and UC are tied to the state of California, which faces a $24.3 billion budget deficit. Eyeing that number, UC President Mark Yudof said an $800 million reduction in state funding will mean tough choices," Edwards wrote.