QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

NO plastic grass in LGUSD! Sign  this PETITION  imploring  our elected school board to say NO to the plastic grass (a.k.a. artificial turf) being planned and proposed for Los Gatos K-8 school campuses ( LGUSD ).  Plastic grass does NOT belong on the playing fields or in outdoor classrooms of our elementary and middle schools.  We all share a duty of care to keep our children safe and healthy. The district's proposal to swap tire crumb infill for an alternative infill, possibly plant-based, is NOT sufficient to mitigate the litany of downsides to using plastic grass. Many of the downsides stem from the plastic itself, 80,000 pounds of which would need to be replaced by LGUSD every 8-10 years. [1]  Plastic grass jeopardizes our: health and safety holistic sustainability of the environment [2] financial sustainability Skeptical? Ask the experts! UCSF doctors recommend to LGUSD a moratorium on plastic grass even if alternative infill is used. [3] Valley Water does NOT promote plastic g

March 2, 2022 News Flash Fisher, Lex, and Blossom Hill community members, were you feeling comfortably in the clear?   Were you under the impression only Van Meter and Daves Avenue elementary school communities were at any real risk of an artificial turf field? Time to engage in the cause. Artificial turf fields are now being explored for ALL FIVE LGUSD schools: Fisher Middle School Blossom Hill Elementary Lexington Elementary Daves Avenue Elementary Louise Van Meter Elementary While there is not sufficient funding to install artificial turf fields at all 5 sites at the moment, it is unclear which of the 5 existing natural grass fields are at highest risk of being killed off in this first round of renovations. The district will use this present exploration process to inform its current and future priorities.  When will a decision be made and by whom? At the 4/21/2022 LGUSD board meeting, the trustees will be presented with some version of the collected input and asked to make a deci

Image from  socialmediaweek.org For more info, join the " Los Gatos Community Discussion: Artificial Turf on LGUSD fields ” Facebook Group or email questionplasticgrass@gmail.com  

Image from idiomsandslang.com . Are we confident that board members, teachers and administration, and community members explicitly advocating for use of plastic grass on our elementary school campuses  are  well-informed of its pros and cons?   Are we confident they've been presented with alternatives?   Have they been presented with attractive, inviting, low maintenance corridor and courtyard designs without plastic grass?  Have they been presented with  an overly simplistic approach to water conservation on the fields? ? Terese McNamee, Director of Maintenance and Operations Thomas Lettiere, and our landscape designer Devin Conway have all repeatedly stated publicly they have no stake in the game, that they are not advocating for plastic grass, and that they are simply providing options for the  the  decision-makers, the  LGUSD Board of Trustees .  Presumably stakeholders are relying on the LGUSD board and the district to have thoroughly researched the  options being presented to

Share your input with the decision-makers, the LGUSD Board of Trustees. Images from lgusd.org Implore LGUSD to do these 2 things: Keep artificial turf OFF elementary school campuses ENTIRELY. Rescind the conclusion from the November 2021 district staff report that artificial turf is safe for use on school campuses.  This conclusion can not be drawn from the evidence available.  There remain an abundance of serious causes for concern.  Even California's Department of Toxic Substances Control is questioning the safety of artificial turf including versions NOT made with recycled tires researching artificial turf as part of its 2021-2023 Priority Product Work Plan. LGUSD has NOT sufficiently addressed artificial turf safety concerns by proposing to use a version made without recycled tires. Take action here .

Image from   universityhealthnews.com Do we need to be worried our kids might come down with a staph infection after scraping an elbow or knee playing tag or a game of soccer on LGUSD's proposed artificial turf play fields?   LGUSD's landscape designer lists among the drawbacks of artificial turf that " turf burns can increase the risk of MRSA ". What do turf burns look like? For those unfamiliar, "turf burn" is a skin abrasion resulting from the friction and heat experienced sliding or skidding across artificial turf.   Healthline explains  it may feel as if your skin has been scraped against sandpaper.  While scrapes and scratches from sliding or skidding across natural grass may also cause pain, that pain "may be moderate and subside within hours or days" while in sharp contrast "pain from turf burn can be intense and last for one or two weeks until the abrasion heals." "Turf burn can lead to a staph infection. These infections ar