{"id":272122,"date":"2026-04-17T06:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/272122\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T06:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:06:16","slug":"sacramento-school-plans-to-install-artificial-turf-raising-concerns-among-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/272122\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento school plans to install artificial turf, raising concerns among parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

A group of Sacramento parents<\/a> is sounding the alarm over a plan to tear out natural grass fields and replace them with artificial turf \u2014 a move they say could put kids\u2019 health at risk.<\/p>\n

The Sacramento City Unified School District insists the switch at Crocker\/Riverside Elementary School is both safe and sustainable, noting that six other elementary schools<\/a> have already made the change in recent years.<\/p>\n

But families aren\u2019t buying it \u2014 and they\u2019re not backing down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI care about all the kids here, so I think it\u2019s important that they have a healthy environment where they spend most of their time,\u201d Lisa Mar told CBS<\/a>, whose child attends the school.<\/p>\n

A group of Sacramento parents is sounding the alarm over a plan to tear out natural grass fields and replace them with artificial turf \u2014 a move they say could put kids\u2019 health at risk.<\/p>\n

But families aren\u2019t buying it \u2014 and they\u2019re not backing down.<\/p>\n

Mar launched an online petition that\u2019s already gathered several hundred signatures<\/a> in an effort to halt the project, arguing she doesn\u2019t want her child playing on plastic during recess.<\/p>\n

\u201cSlow down and rethink it with us, because the community wasn\u2019t consulted, and we really want grass,\u201d added parent Bianca Vargas.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Vargas, whose daughter and niece both attend the school, says her concerns go beyond aesthetics \u2014 pointing to heat retention and the loss of natural play space.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeat, I would say, is the biggest one. Also just the loss of connection to any natural surface,\u201d said Vargas. \u201cWe send our kids here every day. They spend long hours playing outside, and these conditions really matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mar launched an online petition that\u2019s already gathered several hundred signatures in an effort to halt the project, arguing she doesn\u2019t want her child playing on plastic during recess.<\/p>\n

Parents say they\u2019re also worried about potential chemical exposure tied to synthetic turf.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the toxin exposures and the turf<\/a> will make the air quality worse for kids,\u201d said Mar. \u201cIt\u2019s sad that they will be exposed to nothing but artificial surfaces if this project is completed.\u201d<\/p>\n

District officials pushed back, saying safety is the top priority and defending the material as a proven option already in use across the district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conversion to artificial turf is not something new or exclusive to Crocker\/Riverside Elementary. The product is a safe and sustainable alternative to natural grass and has been installed at six other elementary schools in our district as part of modernization and new construction projects in recent years,\u201d a spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n

California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a>
California Post Sports Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, X<\/a>
California Post Opinion<\/a>
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!<\/a>
California Post App: Download here!<\/a>
Home delivery: Sign up here!<\/a>
<\/a>Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, critics warn kids may be more vulnerable than adults to potential risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t tolerate heat stress as easily as older people can. They are considered a vulnerable population,\u201d Dianne Woelke of Safe Healthy Playing Fields told CBS.<\/p>\n

Woelke pointed to concerns ranging from extreme heat to possible exposure to harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are planning on covering essentially every last bit of natural surfacing at this school with plastic,\u201d she said. \u201cParents need to be aware that there are major health risks playing on the fields beyond the heat itself, which can be extreme.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district, however, cited California research showing no significant risk from synthetic turf and argued the school lacks the space to maintain a safe grass field for its roughly 600 students.<\/p>\n

Parents also pointed to a recent move by Los Angeles school officials to ban artificial turf at certain campuses.<\/p>\n

The district, however, cited California research showing no significant risk from synthetic turf and argued the school lacks the space to maintain a safe grass field for its roughly 600 students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest school district in California just voted to ban all artificial turf. It\u2019s the wrong direction,\u201d said Vargas. \u201cI think the tide is turning on plastic. It\u2019s not climate-friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even students are weighing in. One sixth grader said the change could push kids indoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would make me feel like I would want to be indoors more than outdoors, because I would know what\u2019s out there, and I just wouldn\u2019t want to go play on it,\u201d said Alexa. \u201cChildren should deserve to play in a natural environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a key school board vote looming, tensions are rising \u2014 and parents are hinting at legal action if the project moves forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey talk green school yards, but what we\u2019re getting is a plastic school yard,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t