LAPORTE, Ind. – On Sept. 27, the LaPorte County Council cut $5,000 from the Purdue extension office in that county after 4-H volunteers begain quitting the program due to issues with leadership. 

Councilman Mike Rosenbaum said at least one-third of the roughly 600 volunteers once with the Purdue Extension 4-H program have quit or were forced to leave. 

Rosenbaum said he’s open to withdrawing every penny of the $427,000 county government contributes annually to the extension office unless steps are taken to resolve the rift between leadership and 4-H volunteers.

He said the vote by the county council was unanimous because Purdue University, so far, has failed to act on a promise to reassign certain members of the leadership team blamed for the departure of 4-H volunteers.

“We’re getting a very slow response. Therefore, we want to send them a message that we’re willing to unfund the program, if necessary,” Rosenbaum said. A portion of the money from county government is used to pay the salaries of two Purdue Extension office employees.

Elected officials from La Porte County government and Purdue Extension are now engaged in talks to try to reach a compromise.

The funding cut followed turmoil last month at a Purdue Extension meeting where an administrative decision to remove Vern Schafer as president of the local Purdue Extension board was announced.

Supporters of Schafer maintained he could not be removed unless the decision was made by the board.

Several elected officials, including LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney, were at the meeting.

Haney said he wasn’t sure what the new leadership is trying to accomplish from its attitude toward volunteers. “There needs to be a change,” he said.

Haney speculated the rift might be over a new direction Purdue Extension wants to take in terms of programming. He said there should be room for a middle ground.

“We can preserve a lot of the wonderful programs that have been going on for decades and add new programs as well,” he said.

Schafer said he doesn’t know if a change in programming is planned because Purdue Extension is not telling him anything. He also uncertain about his status as board president.

Schafer said the friction started when new leadership from outside the area took over about two years ago and began what he described as micromanaging. 

Among the changes was a more procedural screening of volunteers and participation in online programs to become more informed about their roles, he said.

Schafer said the previous leadership was from the area, built relationships with volunteers and allowed decisions to be made by respective 4-H committees.

He said many volunteers like himself who tried offering input felt like their feedback was not welcome.

“Get to know us. It takes time to get to know us. That’s what we’ve been asking and they never really bothered to do that,” Schafer said.

Mark Parkman, a farmer and former 4-H volunteer, was let go as 4-H council president several months ago by Lisa Anderson, the northwest district director of Purdue Extension.

Parkman was accused of intimidating a Purdue Extension worker after voicing displeasure about phone calls to the Extension office not being returned. 

“If you don’t agree with what they say, you kind of get threatened. You get talked down to. You get to where they won’t include you into things,” Parkman said.

Rosenbaum said he’s concerned about the future of the local 4-H program because the number of volunteers has dwindled to 400 or less.

Unless things change, he said the number of volunteers could further erode. Any hopes of restoring the numbers could be gone if past and current volunteers become involved with 4-H programs in surrounding counties.

In a prepared statement, Anderson said Purdue Extension is working with LaPorte County government to reorganize the local extension office.

She said the reorganization will take time to implement and more details will be released once the reorganization has been completed.

Anderson said a recent meeting became unpleasant and, as a result, had to be canceled. 

“This incident is not what we would hope for in any Extension meeting. However, Purdue Extension remains firm about our commitments and future direction.”

Purdue Extension officials at West Lafayette declined comment and directed all questions to Anderson. Anderson said no additional information was being released because of the ongoing discussions with elected officials.

In response to her statement, Haney said it lacked specifics and questioned whether positive change is in the forecast.

“I am slightly concerned about what their idea of reorganization is going to look like going forward. It almost sounds like they’re committed to moving forward in the same direction they have been for the last several months,” he said.