Northwood, IA- We're learning more about Iowa State's restructuring plans for its extension offices after a regional meeting.
Worth County Extension Education Director Dennis Johnson is on the cut list. In Worth County you'll often find Johnson at one an area school talking to students. He says ISU cuts caught him off guard.
"Probably was thinking it was maybe downsizing a portion of them you know, maybe a forcing of combinations, new duties or responsibilities, but to just say it was a total elimination was kind of a shock," Johnson said.
More than one hundred people expressed the same shock at a regional meeting. Northwood-Kensett High School Principal Keith Fritz is among those hoping to keep the program running.
"Not only like I said I was devestated personally, but then professionally as a secondary school principal I have 260 kids in this building who will be affected by this change too," Fritz said.
About 36 percent of the kids in Worth County are involved in Johnson’s 4-h program, the highest number in the state.
"I learned last night that in many areas of the state their devastated by the loss of a soil specialist or a beef specialist, our area youth development is the key for us," Fritz said.
Extension offices are getting consolidated into 20 regional offices. Johnson says people will miss the one on one interaction.
"We think people use us because they know you a lot of times and that's who they feel comfortable calling," he said.
He says there is a chance the local governments could keep extension offices open at least for the kids sake.
"We just hope we can some way maintain that one because we sense that there's a lot of good that comes out of that and we see a lot of young people really grown and develop," Johnson explains.
Johnson says his office will continue working for now. Many of the extension director's also play a big role in county fairs. He expects they'll continue the job until those events are complete.
