Regent Ron Knecht has asked the interim president of UNR to help find some one-time money to restore cuts made to the Agriculture Department's Cooperative Extension service.
Knecht said he planned to bring the issue up at the Board of Regents meeting today in Reno. He said the extension was basically "on the chopping block" in cuts made by the university system to balance its budget.
He said he has asked Marc Johnson, the interim president and former Agriculture dean, to "bring a proposal for adequate funding" after examining current balances in certain reserve and other dedicated accounts.
Knecht said he believes there is some cash in a number of accounts within Agriculture that could be tapped to help out the extension service this biennium.
The goal, he said in an e-mail to Johnson, is to restore extension funding "to what I think are appropriate levels and to provide a glide path and transition mechanisms to sustainable operations in the long run for (the extension service) and its programs." He said he is hoping to get up to $2 million for the extension.
He said the situation within the extension is unique in his mind and that he doesn't believe there are any significant number of similar situations in the university system.
He also made it clear he doesn't necessarily expect Johnson or Agriculture officials to back his idea if they disagree the money is there or is needed elsewhere.
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