[All-extension] Tues, May 19 update – News and Notes

[Wilkins, Jacqueline K.]

Dear Friends,

I appreciate your patience as I worked this last week to gather information, seek clarity, and develop some strategies in cooperation with our area leaders, administrative cabinet, and college partners around various aspects related to the budget and our eventual transitioning back to offices. As you can imagine, there are a great many moving parts and complexities to these topics and efforts. I continue to be so very impressed with the many ways in which you have engaged with your clientele, our community partners, and with one another. The innovation, creativity, solution-seeking, and power of collaboration across program areas, counties, regions, and issues has been invigorating and inspiring. I know that each new week in telework environments brings its own levels of comfort and discomfort, successes and frustrations, and appreciation for technology while likely wishing you never had to see another Zoom room again. It seems like we are often surrounded by ambiguity and complexities. I would like to tell you that the next two to three months will be an easier transition, but I have committed to being as forthright and transparent as possible.

Our goal over the next few weeks to months is to focus on being highly proactive in planning for the impacts of the budget cuts we are seeing at the state and local levels and to adequately prepare for the phased return to offices for essential/time-sensitive activities as approximately 90% of businesses in Ohio are open for some level of service. We will need to work as a unified team, with flexibility, cooperation, and continued grace as we begin the next phases of navigating our OSU Extension work during the COVID-19 situation. We will need to balance health and well-being, frugal resource management, and thoughtful return to office approaches. I am asking for your active and unified collaboration in working through these challenges TOGETHER. We are stronger and smarter together than any of us are on our own. The resources, tools, and strategies we will be sharing for joint planning and preparedness for addressing budget constraints and return to offices will require us all to understand that not every office is the same, not every employee has the same life circumstances, and not every approach will be perfectly executed. Please be patient with one another and with leadership as we work toward a common set of goals—keeping us safe while meeting our mission.

OSU Extension Return to Offices Readiness Survey—Coming this week
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic created significant workplace changes throughout OSU Extension. As we prepare for our return to the Extension offices, we would like to understand how we can best support you during the transition. You will receive an invitation to complete a brief survey later this week. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential; and results of this survey will help inform the tools and support we provide for employees as you return to your various offices during the next weeks and months.

Phase 1 Return to Office: Expanded Essential Research and Extension Activities Process
Later this week, I will be sending out, by way of your area leaders, materials for planning the initial expansion of essential research and Extension activities. The kit will include planning materials for determining essential return-to-office needs BY COUNTY to allow for individualized approaches to the initial phase of our return to offices. The majority of employees will remain in telework environments right now, at least most days of the week. This planning is intended to identify the key essential activities and duties that will require some office coverage for June and July. Each county is different, with commissioners and businesses handling county buildings and definitions of “open to the public” in different ways. Some county buildings are not opening because the county commissioners have kept them closed. Others may be able to offer abbreviated hours open to the public or by appointment-only options. The county-by-county planning will allow for each office to review specific increasingly critical activities (e.g., fair preparation, mandated court programs, etc.) that are essential in their county during the next 8-12 weeks, while considering the context of their county situations. The goal is to be responsive to the public, while making sure that we are thoughtful about our safety and the safety of our clientele.

The Phase 1 Return-to-Office Planning Kits will include information and expectations on the following (and more):

Considerations for essential and time-sensitive office functions are phased in first:
–      Telework remains in place for most employees, most days of the week through July 6
–      What is immediately needed for being responsive to county re-openings?
–      What key activities are critical for June and July (and still allowable under Stay Safe orders)?
–      Which individuals are likely to run out of work while teleworking?
–      What about differences in readiness to return to the Extension offices?
Life/Work considerations:
–      Children at home without access to childcare or school
–      Caring for parents and other loved ones
–      Immunological or other health concerns
–      Other…
Personal protection equipment (PPE):

–      Each office will need to address PPE requirements

Timeline and Process: Phase 1 Return to Office:

  *   May 21 & 22-- Phase 1 Return-to-Office kits will be provided to area leaders later this week with instructions for distribution to counties.
  *   Week of May 25 to June 5 -- Area leaders will set up meetings with staff in each county after Memorial Day to begin planning the county approach to office coverage.
  *   Weeks of June 8 to June 30 -- The Phase 1 Return-to-Office plans should be submitted to me (wilkins.201) on the forms provided in the kit. After I review them, I will forward them to the college COVID-19 Operations team for review each Friday, with feedback for approval or needed revisions provided the following Monday.
  *   More details regarding the process and instructions for completing the plans will be included in the kits.

NOTE: Regular Essential Research and Extension Activities (not related to reopening offices) still follow the ongoing, existing original submission process.

LIMITED EXEMPTION for attendance at Fair Board Meetings
Limited Exemption has been provided to 4-H educators to participate in Senior/Junior Fair Board PLANNING meetings when virtual access to these meetings is NOT available. This IS NOT an exemption for ANY OTHER face-to-face activities or events at this time.

Budget Impacts: What we Know and Do Not Know
Federal – Currently no COVID-related cuts.
•       As Congress begins to consider the next COVID-19 supplemental appropriations package, APLU and several national associations are working to include $380 million support for agriculture research and Extension. This hasn’t made huge headway yet but is being advocated.
•       The $3 Trillion Heroes Act passed in the House, but remains up for debate in the Senate.

State Funding –
•       COVID-related cuts for FY20 (20% total—spread across the year at 5% per quarter) rather than a 20% cut to the current quarter.
•       Approximate cost to Extension is $1.2 million for current fiscal year FY20. This is Extension (Smith-Lever) broadly, not just the Extension unit (includes departments and other partnerships).
•       Every unit in every college is being asked to look at the 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% budget reductions in case they are needed.
•       Awaiting implications for FY21.
•       States are advocating for federal relief for flexible-use dollars to assist with loss in revenue. Most federal dollars are currently tied to specific COVID-related expenditures.

County Funding –
Getting feedback from some counties (approximately 20 so far) about planning for reducing/revising their Extension budgets for FY20 (ranging from 5%-25%).
•       Local reviews of budgets, including county reserves, are occurring; and the rest of the counties will be asked to plan for potential similar asks from commissioners.
•       FY21 may involve similar reductions—we simply won’t know until county commissioners have a better feel for their next quarter income.

What the Budget Impacts Mean for OSU Extension
Short-term implications/strategies:
•       Ongoing reduction in expenses in some areas (e.g., travel, hiring pauses)
•       Looking at state-level options for absorbing the cuts from the state and assisting counties
•       We continue to explore opportunities to secure stimulus funding, generate new revenues, and engage donors.
•       Working with CFAES HR and CFAES Finance to provide as much flexibility for identifying and implementing strategies to keep our employees in place

Long-term implications/strategies:
•       Ongoing review and prioritization of organizational/ programmatic investments
•       Revenue generation (state and local)
•       Grants and contracts (state and local)
•       Ongoing reduction in expenses in some areas (e.g., travel)
•       Partnering with advancement for state and local fundraising

Budget planning and decision-making (tools coming out Wednesday)
We are sending each county budget proposal steward and the area leaders the county financial overview and reserves information in pivot tables, with strategies for identifying ways to save locally, to allow each county to identify ways to proactively plan for 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% reduction scenarios from their county appropriations, if their local county commissioners request such reductions. Each office should work together to come up with a plan for how you would respond to a requested reduction in appropriations. If you feel that any level of these reductions would be a fiscal strain on your particular county budget, your area leader should reach out immediately to Jesse Buxton, Jeff McCutcheon, or me to discuss.

The state-level offices will be performing a similar process in the next few weeks. I will be working with our administrative cabinet to inform these discussions.

We still simply do not have all of the information necessary to tell you exactly what final budget impacts will be. A great deal depends on how the economy responds to the reopening of businesses and how effectively people respond to required Ohio Department of Health and CDC guidelines for continuing to limit the spread of the virus.

Budget Planning for FY21 Training and Support (Save the Date)
A training session for FY21 budget proposal development for C1 stewards will be held June 8 from 10-11:30am. A Zoom link will be provided, and the session will be recorded.

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Here’s the link to our Ops page with the info: https://extops.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/extension-finance/other-resources/educator-cost-share

Purchasing of PPE, Hand Sanitizer, etc.

  *   Direction on purchasing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitary/cleaning products continues to evolve week by week. We appreciate your staying flexible and understanding that direction may change.
  *   Purchases are acceptable for offices/facilities that are open or have been given clearance to open soon.
  *   The usually preferred process of obtaining supplies through eStores continues to be an option, though availability of items is hit-and-miss.
  *   For now, obtaining PPE and cleaning products from a vendor via a PCard is acceptable.
  *   Please exercise caution about ordering online from unknown vendors, as we have seen several instances of fulfillment problems and inferior products.

Extension Annual Conference
After soliciting feedback and discussing the conference options with our Extension Leadership Team and the Annual Conference Committee, we have decided to hold a virtual conference this year with the exact dates TBD (early December). This was not an easy decision because we wanted to provide a chance for everyone to come together at the end of the year, celebrate our successes at pivoting during the COVID-19 situation, participate in professional development, and network as a community. However, with the concerns about ongoing health and well-being, not knowing where we will be policy- and readiness-wise for large gatherings, and to be good stewards of our budget, we decided that a virtual event would be for the best. We will be soliciting additional input on the optimal approach to holding our annual conference. Look to hear from our LOD unit and our annual conference committee in the near future.

Outreach and Engagement – Community Engaged Program Award Winners
You’ve seen this earlier perhaps, but some exciting Outreach and Engagement news was released just as COVID-19 sent us all to a virtual work environment, so we wanted to make sure we call them out again for a little more recognition. Two Extension-based programs have received Ohio State’s 2020 Community Engaged Program Award:

·   Heal, Repair, Restore: Land Reuse and Community Empowerment in Marion, Ohio was coordinated by Whitney Gherman, Extension educator in Marion County, along with several university partners and local community partners (Mayes Community Temple, Marion County Land Bank, community members).

·   The OSU Green Home Technology Center was created by our own Eric Romich, field specialist in energy development, along with Lingying Zhao (FABE), Qian Chen (FABE), and Andrew Cruse (College of Engineering). They worked with numerous university partners and community partners (e.g. New Albany High Schools; New Albany-Plain Local School District; The USGBC Central Ohio; Efficiency Smart - American Municipal Power, Inc.; Buckeye Power, Inc.; Ohio Energy Office; Habitat for Humanity MidOhio; Green Energy Ohio; Columbus Green Building Forum; Lutron Electronic, Inc.)

Thank you for making a significant impact on the community and university through your engaged scholarship. You can read more about both award winners on the Outreach and Engagement office’s website at https://engage.osu.edu/2020-university-outreach-and-engagement-awards.

Best wishes,
Jackie

[signature_81235330]
Jacqueline Kirby Wilkins, Ph.D.
Interim Director, Ohio State University Extension
Director of Operations, Ohio State University Extension
College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
2120 Fyffe Rd, Suite 3, Columbus, OH 43210
330-263-3831 Office / 330-350-0512 Mobile
wilkins.201 at osu.edu<mailto:wilkins.201 at osu.edu> extension.osu.edu<http://extension.osu.edu/>
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