Arlington county is currently facing a $37 million budget deficit in the coming year, and the county board is proposing drastic cuts. One of the largest programs on the chopping block; Arlington gymnastics.
According to Arlnow.com, in recent years, Arlington county has faced year-over-year decreases in revenue, mostly due to declining commercial office building use, and many office complexes being converted into residential buildings. Additionally, real estate tax makes up a majority of Arlington’s $1.7 billion budget. Typically, the county tries to split that burden 50/50 between residential and commercial properties, but recently the residential side has been pulling more weight, sitting at about 57% of real estate revenue. Along with residential property assessments being up by about 3.2%, many Arlington residents could be facing substantial tax increases, and the county is aiming to avoid this, begging the question; what must go?
According to Arlnow.com, the two main programs that the most recent budget proposal is threatening to cut are the Cherrydale Library, and Arlington’s gymnastics programs. If this budget takes effect, the gymnastics program would end after this season. The board says that part of the issue is that participation has not been able to return to pre-covid levels, so the overall benefit that the community gets from the program is questionable. Additionally, in the 2025 fiscal year, it was only able to recoup about 57% of its total cost, down from 96% pre-covid. Furthermore, the program has also suffered from a lack of trained staff qualified to hold classes. Overall, the county board has many concerns of the future of the Arlington gymnastics program. With this said, there seems to be a large amount of community protest towards cutting gymnastics.
Many are concerned about the accuracy of some financial data, as well as voicing concerns over the lack of other programs in the area that they could transition to. Many supporters of gymnastics say that the gymnastics program acts as a way to put community members together, and promote overall physical and social development for many youths in Arlington. Maddie Wearing, a competitive senior gymnast at Wakefield High School said, “Gymnastics has been an important part of my life for most of my childhood, I would hate to see the same opportunities taken away from future generations, just because they weren’t making enough money.”
Generally, the gymnastics community here in Arlington have been very vocal protesters to the removal of the gymnastics program, putting the board in a very difficult position. According to Arlnow.com, the youth showed up to voice concerns at the March 26th community work session. The next budget proposal will not come out until mid-April. For many families, the coming decision will determine whether Arlington gymnastics remains a cornerstone of youth development or becomes another casualty of the county’s budget shortfall.
If you want to save the Arlington Gymnastics program, sign the petition at savearlingtongymnastics.com.