A conflict over religious expression and government rules that appeared to have ended a longstanding agricultural education program in Southern Oregon may be turning toward resolution — but local leaders and educators have limited time and money to find that solution.
Josephine County leaders and the Oregon State University Extension Service are hoping to find a way to continue delivering programs after tensions reaching back to last summer.
The Josephine County Board of Commissioners voted last month to cut tax funding to the OSU Extension Service, ending a decadeslong tax levy that area voters had originally approved in 1996. Some commissioners and community members said during meetings that the extension service had a “woke” agenda — specifically within the 4-H youth program.
Accusations had been floating around the Josephine County region and social media that local 4-H leaders with the OSU Extension Service told a child participating in a livestock show last summer to turn their T-shirt, displaying a large cross, inside out, according to the Grants Pass Daily Courier. That child was part of a local club called “Faithful Farmers.”
4-H and OSU Extension Service staff told OPB that to their knowledge, no employees asked children to turn T-shirts inside out. However, the extension service does have a “religious neutrality policy,” stating that because 4-H is a publicly-funded program, it cannot include any religious activities or specific references to religious beliefs.
“Personal religious expression, including wearing clothing or jewelry with religious symbols, is permitted,” Jennifer Alexander, communications director of OSU’s division of extension and engagement, told OPB last month. “However, the Faithful Farmers club T-shirts were club shirts, purchased with 4-H funds.”
The commissioners’ decision to cut tax funding to the extension service doesn’t only affect the local 4-H program, but other programs focused on adult gardening, community health and emergency preparedness.
“A discussion of where we are going from here needs to take place,” Herman Baertschiger Jr., chair of the Josephine County board said in a statement.
Baertschiger didn’t respond to a request for comment from OPB.
Ivory Lyles, vice provost for extension and engagement said the extension service has enough carry-over funding to last for a year, so programs and staffing will not immediately be impacted.
In the meantime, Lyles said conversations are starting to figure out how to move forward, and he’s hopeful the board will reevaluate the tax levy next year.
“I have personally committed my time and energy along with the chair of the commission because we can’t resolve this within this year timeframe if there is not ongoing conversation,” Lyles said.
In discussing the elimination of the tax levy last month, Josephine County leaders had also questioned the 4-H program’s declining participation numbers as a reason to withdraw support.
Lyles told OPB that the extension service is in the process of putting together a work plan to increase 4-H youth participation in Josephine County. He said there will be quarterly meetings with the county commissioners to update them on progress.
Lyles said he was “totally caught off guard” by the board’s vote due to the OSU Extension Service’s large structure.
“I will admit I’m not always engaged in the day-to-day operation of a county program,” he said.
Every county in Oregon has OSU extension programming except for Multnomah County, which ended its partnership with the service in 2003, according to the Portland Business Journal, due to a tightening county budget.
Though Lyles was surprised by the county board’s dissatisfaction, he said extension service staff did reach out to commissioners “on numerous occasions.”
“But I’m confident that the county commissioners are busy people,” he said. “They’re prioritizing what they do and how they do things, and sometimes an incident, whether perceived or real, can cause these types of breakdown in communication. So we’re trying to repair that.”
Lyles said the initial conversations he’s had with Baertschiger have been promising, and he hopes that momentum continues.
“I have been extremely pleased with the conversation between me and the chair and his dedication to really wanting a strong youth program there,” Lyles said. “To me, that has been very positive and gives me hope that a year from now this will have disappeared.”
