If it isn't broken, don't fix it

Chicago prides itself on being "the city that works," but that same city recently scrapped a program that was working quite well.

McGuane Park Swim Coach Victor Dapkus was a great Chicago success story. Over the last five years, the senior citizens he has worked with have advanced from novice swimmers to competitive athletes. Some have gone on to compete in state meets, and 13 even qualified for the National Senior Olympics. More important, these seniors’ health has improved dramatically. Not only has swimming helped them, but because Dapkus is a chiropractor, his knowledge of muscles, bone movement, and health has helped them, too.

Out of the blue, however, the Chicago Park District enacted a rule that its swim coaches had to work at least a 20-hour week. Dapkus, who could not devote that much time to coaching because he has a medical practice to run, had to resign.

We see little use for this rule. In fact, it goes against modern practice. At the University of Illinois at Chicago for example, more and more faculty in the health sciences are part time, because teaching and coaching positions in the 21st century simply cannot pay as much as private practice. To get qualified people like Dapkus to run Park District programs, the City must be open to letting people work whatever hours they can and cobbling together a schedule from among part timers. UIC does it, so why can't the Park District? And, why should seniors have to suffer because of this policy change decision?

Dapkus hopes to work with the team on a volunteer basis. That will help somewhat, but a better result would be for the Park District to rescind its rule and come to the realization that it is going to be harder and harder to get full time people, and that a group of extremely qualified part-timers like Dapkus would be preferable anyway.