SCUSD plans to replace our kids’ grass field with plastic turf and crushed olive pits. Construction starts in May. Send one email to the Board today.
No medical review. The district has confirmed in writing that no allergist, pulmonologist, or pediatric specialist was consulted before choosing an artificial turf product for an elementary school.
A vendor with a record. FieldTurf/Tarkett settled a $50 million federal class action in December 2024 for knowingly selling defective fields to school districts. It even was sued for having lead it its products.
No real community choice. PTO leadership has confirmed in writing that grass versus turf was never offered to the community as a decision.
The district bypassed the community. Plans were designed, bid out, and nearly contracted before families were told. The one school-wide announcement that did go out was deleted by administration.
Other districts said no. The Los Angeles Unified School District — California’s largest — unanimously banned new artificial turf at all elementary and middle schools in November 2025. Boston banned it in city parks. Millbrae banned it citywide. Sacramento is moving in the opposite direction.
A surface that runs 60°F hotter than grass. Independent research consistently documents artificial turf reaching 140–170°F on hot days. The district had two-year-old written notice of heat illness on the existing field — and chose a hotter surface anyway.
No real safety study covers this product. The district relies on a California state study that examined crumb rubber — not the olive pit infill being installed. Even the district’s own facilities administrator has acknowledged in writing that the study has limitations and does not cover elementary-age children
If you’re here, you’ve probably heard something about the field at Crocker/Riverside Elementary. Maybe a Parent Square post that disappeared. Maybe a conversation at pickup.
When parents at Crocker/Riverside Elementary have asked the district to justify the safety of the proposed artificial turf installation, the district has consistently pointed to
If a contractor showed up at your house with a $50 million federal class-action settlement on their record for selling defective products, a California Attorney
On April 16, 2026, in a public Board of Education meeting, Sacramento City Unified School District’s Assistant Superintendent of Facilities, Chris Ralston, was asked a
The Sacramento City Unified School District has positioned the proposed artificial turf installation at Crocker/Riverside Elementary as a routine modernization. A standard improvement. The kind
When parents at Crocker/Riverside Elementary have raised concerns about the proposed artificial turf installation, the district has consistently pointed to one example: John F. Kennedy