December 20, 2022
The Cooperative in Cooperative Extension Part 2
This is Part 2 of a series that examines the term “cooperative” in our Cooperative Extension system. This week we look at cooperation regarding budget.
Cooperative Extension is cooperatively funded using federal, state, and local appropriations. Additional funds, such as grants and program revenue, may also provide funding. The federal Smith Lever funding is appropriated according to a formula.
How a state uses federal, state, and local appropriations to fund its Cooperative Extension system varies. There are some states where the local unit has to pay for all of its extension-related expenses, and some where state and federal funds are used to subsidize local appropriations.
Kansas falls into the latter category. State statute says that Kansas State University (KSU) must contribute to local unit agent salary at a minimum of $1,500 per agent per year. All expenses above and beyond the level contributed by KSU are the responsibility of the county or district local unit.
KSU currently provides more than that $1,500 minimum, and the funds used generally come from federal or state appropriations. KSU provides $18,902 in salary support for the first two agents, $11,674 in salary support for each additional agent up to the local unit’s number of approved agent positions, and $1,500 for every agent position that exceeds a local unit’s approved number of agents.
The proportion of what KSU pays into an agent’s salary relative to the proportion the local unit pays into that agent’s salary determines how much each pays with regard to such benefits as health care as well as the employer’s portion of Social Security, Unemployment, Workers Compensation, and Medicare/Medicaid.
Additionally -- and something that is commonly overlooked -- is that KSU pays the entire employer portion of an agent’s retirement plan. The local unit does not pay into the agent’s retirement plan.
Perhaps an example will help illustrate this. Let’s assume that we have an agent that receives the average agent salary of $51,500. This agent fills one of the first two agent positions in their local unit. Thus, KSU pays $18,902 into each agent’s salary.
KSU would then pay 37% (($18,902/$51,500)x100%) health care and the employer’s portion of Social Security, Unemployment, Workman’s Compensation, and Medicare/Medicaid. Once KSU pays the employer’s portion of the agent’s retirement plan, KSU pays 40% of the agent’s salary and benefits while the local unit pays 60%.
Of course, there are more expenses than just agent salary that must be paid in order to provide our constituents the research-backed education we are famous for. At the local unit level, office professionals, program assistants, local marketing and communications professionals, and operating expenses need to be paid for by the local unit. At the regional and state level, KSU needs to pay for specialists, information technology and our Road Warrior information technology support, administrative and programming support, marketing and communications specialists, and a host of other activities. Most of this investment ends up helping local unit educational programs.
In the end, it takes a cooperatively funded $63.6 million to make each of over 6 million direct and indirect educational contacts. Local units pay 35% of that $63.6 million through local appropriations. KSU pays 41% of the expenses using federal and state appropriations. The remaining 24% is funded through grants, contracts, and other funds. The majority of these other funds are generated at the state and regional level, but some are generated locally too.
We work in a cooperative system. We have already seen how Cooperative Extension cooperates in terms of programming and funding. When the Tuesday Letter resumes after the holidays, we will examine how Cooperative Extension cooperates in terms of leadership.
Have a wonderful holiday break!