The city of Arlington, like many other cities across the country, will have to cut back on pool hours and limit the number of facilities open because of a lifeguard shortage.
FOX 4 first reported on the problem back in April when cities across North Texas were having difficulties finding qualified applicants for open lifeguard jobs at municipal pools and parks.Now Arlington and other cities are having to cut back on pool hours or limit the number of facilities they open."Let me tell you like this. Typically, we have 160+ on staff. Right now, we’re sitting at 80," said Venera Flores-Stafford, the assistant director of Arlington Parks and Recreation.
"I think that’s okay because we want the kids to be safe. I’d rather them to staff the pool sufficiently than for our kids not to be safe," added Corliss Brinkley, who also lives in Arlington. The city will rotate pools, opening at least two locations each day and work within modified and staggered operating hours. "When the pandemic hit, we had to close for a little bit and people went out and found other jobs and some people found they didn’t need jobs," Flores-Stafford said."I want them to come at least knowing how to swim, but we provide the training," Flores-Stafford said.
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