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 at what’s actually being installed at our school. The more we read, the more concerned we got. The district plans to replace the grass field with artificial turf filled with crushed olive pits, with construction starting in May 2026.
This site exists for one reason: to make it easy for you to do something about it.
Here’s what you need to know
The district has not consulted a single allergist, pulmonologist, or pediatric specialist about installing this product on a school full of young children. They’ve confirmed that in writing.
The vendor — FieldTurf/Tarkett — settled a $50 million federal class action in 2024 for knowingly selling defective fields to school districts. They’ve also been sued by the California Attorney General for lead in their products. None of this was disclosed to families.
Our PTO President has confirmed in writing that grass versus turf was never offered to the community as a decision. The plans were designed, bid out, and nearly contracted before most families even knew this was happening. The one school-wide announcement that did go out was later deleted.
You can read the full story on this site. But the short version is this: a major decision affecting our kids is being made without the medical review, the vendor disclosure, or the community input that decisions like this require.
What you can do — in 30 seconds
The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education has the authority to pause this project and direct staff to install natural grass with proper drainage and irrigation instead. The funding is allocated. Construction has not yet begun. The Board can act — but only if they hear from enough families to make it a priority.
That’s where you come in. One email, sent to all seven Board members and the Interim Superintendent at once, takes about 30 seconds. We’ve written templates you can use as-is, or you can add a sentence in your own words. Either way, your email gets you on the record.
You don’t have to be a Crocker/Riverside parent. You don’t have to be an expert. You don’t have to have a long history of school activism. You just have to be willing to send one email.
A note on what this campaign is and isn’t
We are not anti-improvement. The project at Crocker/Riverside includes new playground equipment, hard court upgrades, and other changes that families genuinely support. We want all of that to happen. We’re asking for one specific change: natural grass, with proper drainage and irrigation, in place of artificial turf.
We are not attacking our principal, our teachers, or our PTO. The written record shows they were working with limited information too. This campaign is about the district’s process — not the people at our school who we trust with our kids every day.
We are not relying on speculation. Every claim on this site is anchored to written admissions from the district itself, public records produced by SCUSD, peer-reviewed research, or the documented decisions of other school districts. We’ve worked hard to keep it that way. If we ever get something wrong, we want to know — please reach out.
Thank you for being here
We know parents are busy. We know there are a hundred things competing for your attention right now. The fact that you’re reading this matters. The fact that you might send one email, or share this site with one other parent, matters more.
Our kids are going to be playing on whatever field gets installed for the next decade. Whatever the Board decides this spring, our children will live with the consequences. That’s worth 30 seconds of your time. We hope you’ll spend it.