Vermont PBS is calling on supporters, lawmakers and arts groups to lobby legislators to keep funding the station at current levels as it faces the loss of all of its state funding within a few years.
The channel hosts local content like Makin' Friends with Ryan Miller as well as syndicated shows like Sesame Street and Downton Abbey.
But as Vermont's lawmakers looked through the state's tight budget for places to cut this year, Vermont PBS ended up on the chopping block.
"You know, we've got to have a balance between what our priorities are and how much we spend to fund them," said Chittenden County Sen. Diane Snelling, who's been pulling for Vermont PBS in the statehouse.
Even though she supports the station's mission, Snelling says she's not sure how much a priority Vermont PBS is for lawmakers in general.
"I've always thought that it was great that we could support them," she said. "I don't know if we can continue to support them at the level we have, but I do think the state should continue to support them."
Vermont PBS was launched as Vermont E-TV in 1967 with 95 percent of its $426,000 budget covered by the state.
The state's support peaked in 1990 with an appropriation of more than $1.1 million that covered 25 percent of the station's budget.
After that, it was a steady slide until 2010, when the state funded 9 percent of the station's operating budget with an appropriation of about $560,000. That amount hasn't changed since.
"I don't know if we can continue to support them at the level we have, but I do think the state should continue to support them." - Sen. Diane Snelling
The station also gets some money for building and infrastructure projects - about $200,000 this year.
Vermont PBS CEO Holly Groschner says the broadcaster isn't asking for more - just hoping to keep the funding it's been getting.
"We have not asked for more money from the Legislature," she said. "We've been going for level funding for eight years now, and that means we've been managing and stewarding our state dollars just as carefully as we can."
While many groups receiving state money routinely gripe about level funding, that's the goal for Vermont PBS.
The alternative - which is also the current budget plan - could be a big problem for the station. The current state budget (which hasn't yet been sent to the governor for approval) proposes reducing the operating appropriation by $200,000 this year and shrinking it to zero eventually. It would also totally eliminate that building and infrastructure money.
"We are looking at a loss that could be in this year at least a half a million dollars," Groschner said, "which is a big hit for us because a lot of our expenses are fixed."
"We've been managing and stewarding our state dollars just as carefully as we can." - Holly Groschner, Vermont PBS CEO
A bigger hit could follow. The current plan would phase out state funding for Vermont PBS entirely within a few years.
Groschner says there's not an exact plan for what will happen if the appropriation doesn't come through, but she couldn't rule out staffing or programming cuts.
"Programming and staffing are integrally related here, so it's very difficult to talk about one without the other," she said.
Someone will have to make some tough choices for Vermont PBS for the next fiscal year, but it remains to be seen if that'll happen in the Statehouse or at the station.
