Coronado’s Green Field Goes Artificial

The board approved an overhaul of Green Field on Thursday night, but not without descent. The softball field is the last in the city to have real grass, and some members of the community wanted to keep it that way.

Andy Rogers, a fourth grader at , presented the board with a petition opposing artificial turf. Rogers had gathered the petition with the help of his classmates.

“Keep the grass and don’t make it plastic,” he said. “You fall on it and get skin burns.”

Supporters, who included Superintendent Jeffrey Felix and middle school softball coach, Randy Adair, pointed to its safety and low maintenance costs.

“Grass gets a lot of use, which makes the surface uneven,” Adair pointed out.

“At its current level, it isn’t safe,” Jay Kruer, the JV softball coach added.

Besides safety, Felix said he supported artificial turf because it afforded more playtime. There are days, after a rain or when the grass needs to be fertilized, that it cannot be used.

Artificial turf cost more to install—$494,000 opposed to $88,000 for sod. But turf cost less to maintain.

“Once installed artificial turf requires little or no care,” said Tom Silva, the district’s construction manager. “Grass needs to be mowed, watered and fertilized.”

Silva estimated the maintenance cost of grass at $15,000 to $17,000 per year, while artificial turf costs about $3,000 to $7,000.

Trustee Ledyard Hakes did his own math. He argued that because the artificial turf would have to be replaced in 10 years, the actual cost was more.

“In a perfect world, I want artificial turf,” he said.

Hakes suggested a compromise: Put in sod for two years to see if it could be maintained at a safe level. There was no support for his plan.

Instead the board voted 5 to 3 to replace the grass at Green Field. Will Funk, the new student representative, joined Hakes in opposition.

In justifying his vote for artificial turf, school board president Bruce Shepherd pointed out that safety and cost can go hand-in-hand.

“All you need is one serious accident and a suit filed by one kid,” he said.

At its meeting Thursday, the trustees also took action on a number of issues that move the district closer to its goal of a 21st century classroom.

The board unanimously approved a pilot program to introduce biology classes. If successful, as Felix has every confidence that it will be, the program will expand to other class levels and subjects.

The trustees shared his enthusiasm. “This will spread like wildfire. Carrying books will be a thing of the past,” said board member Doug Metz.

Students will be encouraged to bring their own electronic storage devices.

“Students will be more comfortable with them,” Felix explained. The superintendent also indicated that there were funds to provide devices to students that don’t have one.

To succeed, the program needs a support system, Felix noted. But as it stands now, most of the district’s technological equipment, phones and email servers are antiquated and frequently break down. The district hasn’t upgraded their system in more than five years, he said. 

Felix asked the board for $1.1 million for new equipment, plus another $120,000 for consultant fees. The trustees approved the request 5 to 0.

The board also unanimously approved a new homework policy that includes a governing philosophy and general guidelines.

Specific grade level guidelines and what is precisely required of students, teachers, parents and principals were not included. These will be taken up by a superintendent’s committee, which he will assemble. A complete policy will be presented to the board later this year.