The print catalog for the fall Arlington Community Learning program lists the wrong price for several classes, school officials have confirmed.
The errors impact prices for county seniors and non-residents, which in some cases were flipped in the 20-page catalog:
- For the “Introduction to Decoupage” course, as one example, the fee for Arlington seniors was listed as $115 and for non-residents $95, when the reverse is true
- For “Federal Retirement Roundup,” the same type of error occurred: the non-resident fee was listed at $105 but should have been $125, while the resident senior fee was listed at $125 when it should have been $105
Fees for Arlington (non-senior) adults appear to be all correct in the catalogs, which were mailed out to residents across Arlington in recent weeks.
“We recognize that community members who received the printed catalog may have experienced confusion, and we apologize for the inconvenience,” Christina Arpante, interim assistant superintendent for school and community relations at Arlington Public Schools, told ARLnow.
Reprinting and mailing a corrected catalog would have been an expensive fix and may simply have exacerbated the confusion. Arpante said APS was doing what it could, short of that step, to inform the public.
“The Arlington Community Learning team sent an email to Arlington seniors in its database to make them aware of the error, provide the correct information and apologize,” she said, adding:
“All pricing is correct in the online catalog and registration system. We appreciate our community’s understanding and encourage customers to refer to the online catalog and registration system for current pricing.”
The Arlington Community Learning program provides adult education both for enjoyment and professional certification.
The program “has put together a fantastic array of fun, educational and rewarding classes at convenient locations,” Superintendent Francisco Durán said in a welcome message in the catalog.
For the fall semester, the school system has added additional classes in music, art, foreign languages and textile arts to accommodate demand, he wrote.
The community-learning program is also on the hunt for instructors in in-demand subject areas, ranging from languages and calligraphy to buying a car and “the art of small talk.”
