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Yankton County rescinds prior 4‑H cut after public outcry, approves MOU with SDSU to place educator
Summary
After extensive public comment urging restoration of the 4‑H educator, the Yankton County Commission rescinded a prior 4‑H motion and voted to sign a memorandum of understanding with South Dakota State University to place an SDSU employee in Yankton County; county funding for the position will be decided at the Sept. 5 budget meeting.
The Yankton County Commission rescinded an April motion affecting the county’s 4‑H program and voted to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Dakota State University to host an SDSU educator in Yankton County.
Supporters packed the meeting and urged the commission to restore a dedicated 4‑H educator. Laura Katalik, a longtime 4‑H leader, told commissioners, “there’s an overwhelming support for 4‑H in Yankton and across the state,” and urged the county to “support, financially as much as possible” the positions needed to maintain the program. Multiple speakers — including current and former 4‑H members, leaders and Master Gardeners — described volunteer hours and community services tied to the extension office and said losing a staff educator would harm youth opportunities and longtime partnerships.
Tim Tanner of South Dakota State University described the MOU option and fielded questions from commissioners. Tanner said SDSU would provide an SDSU employee as a full‑time educator and estimated Yankton County’s share for 2026 at $23,000.50 under a January 1 start assumption. Tanner framed the investment as preventive, saying, “a lot of our money as taxpayers goes to fixing bad things,” and argued that 4‑H builds leaders and upstream supports for communities.
Commissioners debated program reach, fundraising and operational details. County officials and public speakers clarified that premium fair money and club fundraisers support student awards and events but “does not cover 1 dollar of expense” for core 4‑H operating costs. Commissioners asked for quarterly reports from the new educator if the MOU proceeds, and SDSU said it has improved onboarding and mentoring to support new staff.
The commission approved signing the SDSU MOU by voice vote; several commissioners emphasized that the MOU commits SDSU to supply an educator but does not itself set the county’s funding level. A county commissioner told the room that the county budget meeting on Sept. 5 will determine whether and how much the county will allocate to the position.
What’s next: The MOU will be signed as approved by the commission; funding for Yankton’s portion of the educator’s cost is to be determined at the Sept. 5 county budget meeting.
