Kids, staff say Arlington Teen Center needed

Everyone agrees the Arlington Heights Teen Center does good work, but it's on the chopping block because the village needs to cut more than $3 million in expenditures.

A motion to close the center in January to save $378,400 annually will be on the village board agenda Monday, and it is expected to pass.

"It's a tough decision," said Trustee Joseph Farwell when the board met this week.

"(But) I've never seen where the Teen Center has risen to the level of basic services or, if you want, the Senior Center litmus test. And we are making dramatic cuts in such places as public works."

Large drops in Arlington Heights' revenue from sales and income taxes have the village board poised to cut 25 of its approximately 450 staff positions, including 13 by layoffs. The board also will probably vote Monday to raise the village's share of property taxes by 5.4 percent and institute 3 percent taxes on electricity and natural gas.

Mayor Arlene Mulder cast the only vote against closing the center at a recent committee of the whole meeting, the precursor to the village board.

The Teen Center had 44,000 visits last year, said manager Mike Clingingsmith, compared with 3,500 in 1995, the year it opened in the former library at 112 N. Belmont Ave., across from Recreation Park.

The informal counseling at the center prevents all kinds of problems from smoking and shoplifting to suicide, he said. Most of the kids who come are in middle school, but some high schoolers use it and the center is popular with kids at Miner School, operated by the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization.

Teens need the center more when the economy is bad because their parents don't have money to spend on leisure, said Clingingsmith.

"Ninety percent of the kids we get here are good kids,"he said. "But every kid has issues. They're wearing the wrong pair of shoes or not wearing a cool jacket.

"When you're a teen everything can be just an unbelievably huge issue. Bad grades, bad report card, your parents kicked you out. Who do you call? They call us. Every kid is an at-risk kid, I don't care if you're an 'A' student or a star football player."

The village spent about half a million dollars several years ago to turn the basement into a Friday night teen haven with a cafe, stage, projection television, sound system and video games.

Danny Huizinga, 13, thinks so much of the Teen Center that once when he broke a rule and was ejected, he labored over a paper on responsibility in order to be readmitted.

"I wish he would do his homework with such dedication as writing that letter," Sue Huizenga remarked.

"It's very safe here, and all my friends are here," Danny says. "I come here and do my homework. (Without it) kids could take the wrong path."

His mother said the Teen Center staff are excellent mentors. She works, and doesn't want her son at unsupervised homes after school.

Danny has learned leadership skills through projects like planning the Thanksgiving feast that youngsters and staff prepared, Huizenga added.

The after-school crowd is heavily boys, said Assistant Manager Cyndi Gagliano, but girls come for the Friday night events.

"There are more kids in our office than out playing games," Gagliano said. "The games will bring them in, but the staff keeps them here."

She has worked for the center more than 10 years, and says kids will come back to say hello when they're grown, Two high school seniors brought her a teddy bear when her son was born.

Kathy Scortino, a counselor and 18-year member of the village Youth Commission, said the decision to close the center came as a surprise.

"I think it is absolutely essential that we have a place within our community where kids can go be with other kids and a phenomenal staff, talking, listening to them and helping them make good decisions," she said.

Gagliano said the claim that only youngsters from the central part of Arlington Heights use the Teen Center is not true, producing three months of reports that show about half the teens live north of Oakton Street or south of Central Road. The area north of Hintz Road is sparsely represented.

Scortino said the village should still serve youngsters who can get to the center, and she wishes better transportation was available for others.

Without the center teens will be hanging out downtown, said Clingingsmith.

"How much would you pay to keep your kids off drugs?" he said. "How much would you pay to raise your kid's self esteem so he can do well in school? How much would you pay for homework assistance whenever you need it?"

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=340790">Arlington Heights likely to ax Teen Center <span class="date">[12/01/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>