Is Arlington County Taking Over, Hiking Rates of Co-op Playgroups?

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UPDATE: The following is a statement from the Fairlington Cooperative Playgroup:

“The Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation proposes implementing aggressive changes to a community playgroup that is run smoothly by volunteers – active parents invested in the development and safety of their children, which has operated in Fairlington for over 30 years – and suddenly saddle it with excessive county oversight, higher costs, and less safety. We seek the Arlington County Board’s support in questioning these proposed changes.”

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Members of a nearly 40-year old cooperative playgroup in Fairlington are scratching their heads over a planned county takeover of their group, which meets in a county building, according to posts by its members, on Facebook.

A group of parents started the Fairlington Cooperative Playgroup in Arlington County’s Fairlington neighborhood in 1976; designed for parents and their preschool-age children ages 12 months to 36 months, they meet on a regular basis in two rooms at the Fairlington Community Center, providing the toys and running the program.

The hourly rental fee for a classroom at the Fairlington Community Center is $30 an hour for county residents, according to its facility request form.

A description of the playgroup from their Web site notes that “children participate in free play time, a group activity, and a group snack (the snack is provided by one of the parents, on a rotating basis). Each child brings his/her own drink in a sippy cup or other leak-proof container (no bottles, please).

Classrooms are stocked with craft supplies, blocks, ride-on toys, and dress-up clothes. Play areas include a train table, kitchen, climbing structure, and play house. The toys are cleaned by the parents, on a rotational basis.”

Recently, the county let the parents know that the county will take over registration and will also not allow parents to use the room outside of “class” hours as they have in the past, since they are using county property for their program, according to the member Facebook posts.

Changes afoot reportedly include:

• County takeover of registration, reportedly hiking rates from $20 to $190 for one session (which is anywhere from three to five months); classes appear to meet either twice a week for two hours at a time or Fridays
• County reportedly taking over and locking the rooms when classtime is over (parents say they like to get together there for lunch and playtime during the day, after official classtime).
• County takeover of toys and equipment (the county has told parents they will purchase the equipment parents have brought in or parents can lock it all up before they leave each time).

On Facebook, parents are discussing everything from the rate hike to the timing of the decision to the possibility of taking their playgroup and moving it elsewhere.

The playgroups appear to be mainly for stay-at-home parents; most preschools in the area are either half-days or full-days and range in price from $500 to $1,000 or more per month.

In addition to Fairlington, other cooperative playgroups in Arlington County meet at other spots including at Lee Community Center and Madison Community Center.

Stay tuned: Patch is waiting to hear from the county about this new turn of events and also has an email in to the Fairlington Cooperative Playgroup for comment.

PHOTO: Fairlington Cooperative Playgroup classroom at the Fairlington Community Center, a county facility; image courtesy of Fairlington Cooperative Playgroup, via their Web site