Reply to Arlington proposing to close county gymnastics program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Stafford is the only other one that could be considered northern VA. The classes offered by Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun are on set up and take down basis in multi use areas.

Then there’s Sportsplax in PG county which is operated by parks and rec as far as the program. But obviously the building administration and initial capital was different from Barcroft. But my impression of strictly how the gymnastics program is run it seems very similar to Arlington.

Going farther north there are some others in Maryland I’m pretty sure. But I can’t name them off the top of my head.

Capital posts all their team tuition online, you can look it up. Arlington is well in range and more expensive in some cases. Tuition wise. Keep in mind these private teams have competitive “assessment fees” during the season of 1-2K total in addition to tuition. This covers coaching fees for meets and such. The team parent associations for Arlington also cover these fees, but I don’t know what the current fee level is there, and how it compares. From the county accounting perspective, they probably need to keep things separate but maybe more fees could be assessed at the county level to make up a salary gap, for instance. Again we don’t have any hard numbers (on the Arlington side) so it’s hard to say. 
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So this is not a standard offering for a local government is the answer.[/quote]
Nature centers, a bike trail, and Long Bridge also aren't standard county offerings for pretty much anywhere. Arlington's an affluent community that has nice things.[/quote]

Arlington is affluent but money is still finite and you still have to be able to justify expenditures. Nature centers serve educational purposes, not just at schools but for the general community, put on events for all ages, and help preserve green spaces. Is there a single public (or even private) school child in Arlington County who hasn't been through one of the nature centers and learned about hawks or owls or seen one up close for the first or only time? I doubt it. Bike trails are inexpensive to build and maintain, promote a healthy activity for all ages, and provide an alternative commuting method in a county with awful traffic. Long Bridge offers programming from birth to 80+, including foundational water safety classes, teaching an essential, life saving skill. It's a facility that is used pretty equally by kids, middle aged adults, and the elderly.

Now make the case for the Bancroft gymnastics program in a way that makes it as appealing or beneficial as the three other amenities you mentioned. If you can't do that in a way that is convincing for your fellow residents, then the program shouldn't exist.[/quote]

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