Welcome to Real Grass for the Crocker Field
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. Maybe a flyer. Whatever brought you here, we’re glad you came. We’re a group of parents — Crocker/Riverside families and SCUSD families across the district — who started looking carefully […]
The District’s Single Health Study Doesn’t Cover This Product or These Children — And They Know It
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 one source: the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) study on synthetic turf, finalized in March 2026. Assistant Superintendent Chris Ralston has cited it in writing across multiple […]
What FieldTurf Doesn’t Want You to Know About Their Track Record
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 General consent judgment for lead contamination, and 19 consolidated lawsuits pending against them — would you hire them? The Sacramento City Unified School District just did. The artificial turf scheduled […]
Ralston Told the Board There Is No Comparable Elementary School. The Campaign in Support of the Project Is Telling Parents Otherwise.
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 direct question by Board Member Rhodes: “What other elementary schools in Sac Unified School District have turf at this scale that we’re thinking about?” His answer: “At this scale, we […]
Other Districts Said No: How LAUSD, Boston, and Cities Across California Made Different Choices
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 of decision school districts make all the time. The reality is the opposite. Across California and nationally, school districts and municipalities looking at the same evidence the district is looking […]
Why JFK High School Isn’t a Comparison: What’s Different About an Elementary School Field
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 High School. JFK has olive pit infill turf. According to Assistant Superintendent Chris Ralston, “the feedback from staff and students there has been positive, particularly regarding safety and heat performance.” […]
What’s Actually in This Field: A Plain-English Guide to FieldTurf Vertex Prime and Olive Pit Infill
When parents at Crocker/Riverside Elementary first heard about the project, the district’s announcement called it “a brand-new turf field.” That’s the kind of phrase that sounds like a routine improvement. It isn’t. The proposed surface is a multi-layered industrial product made primarily of plastic, sitting on a synthetic shock pad, filled with crushed agricultural waste. […]
Grass vs. Turf Was Never a Choice — In PTO Leadership’s Own Words
When Sacramento City Unified School District officials defend the artificial turf installation at Crocker/Riverside Elementary, they often describe a months-long process of community input. Meetings were held. Plans were shared. The PTO was involved. Here is what the PTO President actually wrote, in an email on April 10, 2026: “There was no decision point on […]
No Doctor Was Consulted Before Choosing This Product for Our Kids.
Imagine the school nurse calling you tomorrow with this message: Your child needs a new medication. We picked it ourselves. We didn’t ask a doctor. We don’t have any pediatric studies on it. But we’re confident it’s safe. You would not accept that answer. That is the standard the Sacramento City Unified School District is […]
The District Offered to Fix the Grass. The School Declined — After the Turf Decision Was Already Made.
For months, families at Crocker/Riverside Elementary have been told the same story: the grass field couldn’t be saved. It was beyond repair. Artificial turf was the only realistic option. That story isn’t true. And the person who told us it isn’t true is the SCUSD Assistant Superintendent of Facilities himself. On March 24, 2026, in […]