"I have three other kids," Brassington says, "and it took me until the fourth to realize how great 4-H is."

The Rolling Hills club, which teaches youth everything from beekeeping to computers, will soon commemorate its 30th anniversary. But many others in the Sunnyvale area may never get to realize the virtues of 4-H if proposed county budget cuts go through. As the county is expecting a $238 million budget deficit, Santa Clara County Agricultural Commissioner Greg Van Wassenhove proposes cutting the 4-H program and five other programs the county has run with the University of California Cooperative Extension since the 1960s.

Van Wassenhove says he has to cut the program because it is the only nonmandated program under his department. "The county requires me to cut $422,000 from my budget. Our annual budget for the UC Cooperative Extension is about $438,000. Cutting the program helps me meet my reduction target," he says.

According to Van Wassenhove, the county can keep all the programs by moving all the staff into a county building and helping with office expenses. "The state just needs to come up with $60,000," he says.

He adds that if he cannot keep all the programs, he would love to keep some of the cheaper, more popular ones, such as 4-H and Master Gardeners.

Officials from the UC Cooperative Extension say the six programs are co-related and cannot be separated. "Our farm advisers show our master gardeners how to plant things, and our master gardeners show our 4-H group how to make a garden," says Pam Kan-Rice, spokeswoman for the UC division of agriculture and natural resources.

"The university contributes about $1.8 million each year just in Santa Clara County. We just ask the county to contribute the rent and a little bit more to support the office. I think we are doing our share," she adds.

Maria de la Fuentes, county director for the UC Cooperative Extension, says although programs like 4-H and Master Gardeners are better known than other programs, they are only a small part of the UC Cooperative Extension.

In addition to the 800 children involved in the 4-H and 250 Master Gardeners volunteers, the UC Cooperative Extension in Santa Clara County serves 5,000 children below the poverty line who benefit from the nutrition program and 1,000 small-scale farmers who receive informational assistance.

"Eighty percent of our clients are small farmers, low-income families and ethnic minorities," says de la Fuentes, who has served as a county director for nine years. "If you remove the services from them, they won't make a noise."

"The program is not mandated because it needs the flexibility to respond to the changing needs of the community. The county commissioner has historically wanted to use us as an easy way out to solve his budget crisis," de la Fuentes says. Van Wassenhove proposed cutting the UC Cooperative Extension in 1993.

The county and the UC Cooperative Extension have only two months to settle their dispute. The county supervisors will make final decisions on the budget June 14.

To save the program, the county's 13 4-H clubs have initiated a letter campaign, petitioning the county supervisors to keep the program. Club members also made April 24 4-H Awareness Day and will go to events like farmers markets to promote the program.

According to Brassington, the most important elements are the cooperation and responsibilities built when youngsters grow up with 4-H. "When they're at school, they're only interacting within their age group," she says. "In 4-H, you may have a 9-year-old and a 19-year old working together on the same project. They really learn to take care of each other."

Members of the Rolling Hills club extend their projects far beyond their boundaries, such as taking the rabbits and dogs from their projects to visit the elderly, and that is what Brassington says is the truly vital part of 4-H. "The kids run the meetings themselves," she says. "Socially, it's really helped."

Staff writer Allison Rost contributed to this report.