While County Board members have agreed to save gymnastics programming, advocates now fear that a proposed hike in participation fees may still make the programs inaccessible for many families.
At last week’s budget-markup session, Board members settled on a proposal that would increase participation fees for the Arlington Aerials and Arlington Tigers gymnastics programs 44% in the coming year.
The increase is designed to recoup more costs that have been subsidized by taxpayers in recent years. But it is more than the 25% one-year increase that, apparently owing to a communication error between county staff and Board members, initially appeared to be the front-runner among options on the table.
In an email sent to gymnastics supporters Sunday morning, leaders of the Save Arlington Gymnastics coalition asked residents to email Board members and County Manager Mark Schwartz in an effort to reduce the fee increase to the 25% first proposed by Board Chair Matt de Ferranti.
“The proposed 44% would put Arlington’s fees between $775 and $7,634 a year above local private gyms, depending on level,” advocates said. “Our public program would cost more than the private alternatives.”
The effort to reduce the increase at this stage would be something of a Hail Mary pass, since Board members on April 16 went through budget proposals line by line to balance cuts with new expenses. Typically, the meeting where the budget is adopted, set for Wednesday evening, represents a pro-forma ratification of those decisions.
Earlier this year, County Manager Mark Schwartz proposed eliminating funding for both competitive and recreational gymnastics programs operating out of the Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center, and closing that venue to evaluate its physical condition.
Efforts by leaders in the sports community led County Board members to rescind the proposals. But in doing so, they said families using the programs would have to pay more to reduce the need for subsidies.
At the April 16 meeting, Board members were presented with seven options, with fee increases ranging from 11% to 67% for the coming year. Depending on the increase adopted, cost recovery for the competitive gymnastics program would range from 66% to 100% in the first year.
The 44% increase tentatively agreed to at the meeting would lead to an 86% cost recovery for the program in the coming year.
De Ferranti’s initial backing of a 25% fee increase appeared to be based on an error in the spreadsheet provided to Board members, which suggested it would lead to an 86% cost recovery. In reality, the cost recovery with a 25% fee increase would be only 74%.
Once that became known, de Ferranti and other Board members gravitated to the option for a 44% fee increase for the coming year, with the possibility of a second increase in fiscal 2028 to bring full cost recovery.
How those large increases will play out remains an open question, several Board members acknowledged.
“We simply just don’t know how that is going to impact the program. We just don’t know what is going to happen with participation,” Board member Maureen Coffey said.
Board member Takis Karantonis acknowledged that a 44% jump represented a significant year-over-year increase, but said the programs’ costs would be competitive with those offered elsewhere.
“It works for me,” he said of the increase.
