Who We Are.
What Is an Extension District?
In 1991, the Kansas Legislature amended the Extension Council law to allow two or more counties to join together to provide a district extension program. The Extension District Law was designed to allow for more efficient and effective programming. Two or more county extension councils establish a district by entering into an agreement to combine programs.
On July 11, 2005, the Extension Council Executive Boards and County Commissions in Jackson, Jefferson and Nemaha County successfully passed county resolutions to form an extension district. The Meadowlark Extension District was legally formed on July 1, 2006.
Who Governs the Extension District?
The Meadowlark Extension District relies on strong local governance. Each county in our extension district is represented by four district governing body members.
District governing body members are elected in a election that is conducted by the election officers or county clerk in each county. The District Governing Body in partnership with the Area Director, is responsible for leading the educational program, supervising the extension agent staff, and developing and approving the budget.
Why These Three Counties?
Several factors were considered including:
- Similar mix of rural and urban issues.
- Strong extension programs with the support from volunteers and extension clientele and the community.
- A desire for continued effective extension programming success in 4-H, Family and Consumer Sciences, Agriculture and Community Development that the district format offers.
- Long history of “county block” programming, especially in the areas of Family and Consumer Sciences and Multi-county 4-H events.
- Contiguous counties that were ready and willing to district with the support of their extension council and county commissions.