All 27 counties in the Cumberland District have now achieved 100 percent of their county's Extension funding goal, according to Dr. Ivory Lyles, district supervisor. Lyles credits county Extension leaders, agriculture committees, and county commissions with working collectively to enhance Extension programming through equitable funding. But we don't consider the management of county affairs in our formula. It's strictly based on Tennessee tax revenue, so there's consistency across the state. We want to continue to develop a positive relationship with our county governments so that they understand and value the work that we do.
Most counties realize they're getting a good buy.
Some tough administrative decisions were made in the mid-'90s when a few counties balked at contributing their fair share. Counties refusing to ante up lost Extension positions. Funding goals were included in evaluation standards for county Extension leaders. Most people want to do what is expected of them. And since this became an expectation for Extension leaders, they wanted to discharge that expectation to the fullest.