6/20/11
by: Perry Miller
Attorney General Marty Jackley says cuts to South Dakota's
Cooperative Extension Service do not violate federal law.
Several state lawmakers asked for the opinion, saying the
cuts might violate the mission of the state university system.
Jackley says federal law does not even require an extension
service.
The cuts to extension resulted in layoffs and the closure of
research stations and labs. The service is reorganizing into
seven regional centers to help offset the loss of $1.2 million
in state and federal funding.
Representative Frank Kloucek of Scotland is one of the
lawmakers who had sought the opinion. He says the attorney
general is wrong and the whole reason the extension service
was created was to provide local service to the people and
this clearly violates that purpose.
He believes the state is, at the least, violating the spirit of
the law. He says they'll live with it and try to make it better, but
he believes it is a sad day for South Dakota.
Kloucek was asked if there would be legal action to try and
prevent the reorganization. He says he is aware of people
talking about it but does not have a formal comment at this
time. He believes there is grounds for action.
Kloucek says there may be efforts next session to restore
extension. However, he says many good people will have
left the service by then and they'll have to start over from
the ground up.
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