County agents weigh options

By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition

September 4, 2003 -- Due to recent budget cuts by legislation, many Extension agencies in Texas are trying to figure out how to not only deal with the cuts, but to help satisfy Texas citizens who rely on the Extension agencies for help and knowledge in their daily life.

According to Dale Fritz, District 9 Extension administrator, 46 agent positions have been targeted for elimination. "We are currently working on other funding entities to keep some of these positions. Because of this, we are hoping that less positions become eliminated."

One option that has been offered to older Extension agents is to have them take voluntary early retirement, allowing for younger agents to take their place. "From a positive stance, this will open more positions for our college graduates. "

He said that the reason the retirement option was offered was that it was a "way to meet ends in order to balance the budget." He added that this was one of the management steps used to maintain as many positions as possible.

"Anytime there is a cut in budget, it will result in a number of programs and educational opportunities being cut as well. What we will continue to do, though, is utilize our resources to meet the needs of citizens of Texas."

Due to the economy of the state, Fritz knew that this would eventually happen to all the Texas agencies. "We are fortunate that the legislators see our value and are thankful that the cuts were not as severe as they could have been."

He stated that with the voluntary early retirement, or any retirement, the organization is losing a great value of knowledge. "These people have been dedicated employees and we know there will be a void in the vast experience and knowledge that they provided us.

"But I feel that there are a number of very capable young agents in our organization. We are going to hire a number of college graduates to begin their career in our organization. These young people will very quickly fill that void and offer quality educational programs to their counties."

C. Jack Hunter is one of the Texas agents who has opted to take early retirement. For almost 26 years, he has been a Texas county Extension agent for Orange, Madison, Colorado, and, most recently, Brazos County.

"My reason for choosing to retire early might be different for others," he stated. "One of the reasons I chose to retire was because I was given the opportunity to start another career. I have been offered a job to be a banker."

Hunter stated that he also chose the early retirement option because he wanted to pursue other personal interests. "What I want people to know is that I didn't choose to get out of Extension. I feel that I was given the opportunity to close one chapter of my life and open another."

He explained that the first thing he did when told about the early retirement was decide whether or not he could afford to take the early out. "There is a penalty associated with taking an early retirement. Some companies offer incentives, but in our case there is a financial penalty for early retirement since we are under civil service."

The penalty is that the annual retirement pay is lowered 2 percent each year from age 55. "The age 55 is the magic age in civil service. Since I am 52 and a half, I will have a 5 percent penalty reduction."

He feels that there is no connection with younger agents and the early retirement option. "If I decided to stay here, I don't feel that it would eliminate them from having a career opportunity in Extension. There are a lot of ways young people can have a career here. I do feel that my retiring will give them even more opportunities, though.

"While I don't feel that the early retirement decision doesn't affect college students who want to pursue a career in Extension, I think that the loss of positions will affect their career. You will definitely see a lot of shuffling going on in the next six months."

Hunter says that he will miss having the opportunity to work with people and serve their educational needs. "Extension has been my life. I still believe in the mission and feel that it is an important role. It's important because this is an educational agency.

"People are always in need of education and they are always looking for leadership and guidance. There will always be a need for Extension."

He adds that the budget cuts are unfortunate, but part of reality. "It's not just happening to us, but on a statewide level to all agencies."