Artificial Turf Proposal Divides Chappaqua, But Addresses A Becoming Trend

The Journal News
By David Novich
September 21, 2005

Artificial turf is quickly becoming a trend on school fields across Westchester and Putnam counties.

But in the wealthy Chappaqua school district, a proposal to install the durable and expensive playing surface at Horace Greeley High School is dividing the parent community — with those who are willing to pay for it, and others who think it's simply not necessary.

The proponents are planning to raise money for the turf, which they say will help school sports teams deal with a shortage of field space. Artificial turf drains quickly and can take more abuse than grass, providing more playing time. Also, new design technology makes the synthetic grass much easier on athletes than the original AstroTurf® (that was on the market over 40 years ago).

Opponents, though, say the turf is not needed and worry that replacing it years from now may come at the expense of school programs.

On Tuesday, Chappaqua district residents will have a chance to express their views on the proposal to the Board of Education.

"I think there is no right answer," said Janet Benton, the school board's president. "It's a community decision of what kind of facilities we want to have."

Turf has become the popular choice in several Westchester and Putnam districts, including Putnam Valley, New Rochelle, Pleasantville and Yorktown.

The turf fields in the area have generally cost between $700,000 and $800,000, said Martin Hewitt, who was a member of the Chappaqua district's Athletic Field Turf Committee. Resodding the field with grass would cost between $78,000 and $90,000, according to the committee's report.

Hewitt, whose son is a senior at the high school, said parents are developing another committee to raise funds for the project. He said the turf would allow the field to be used more.

"I think it's a great idea," Hewitt said. "We have a shortage of fields in Chappaqua, not only for the athletics at the high school, but also for the community-based athletics."

But Anne Caywood, who has two children at the high school, said she was worried that down the line, the turf maintenance costs would prevent the hiring of more teachers or cause a school program to be scrapped. Turf fields typically last eight to 10 years, and replacing one would cost between $350,000 and $400,000, the turf committee report said.

"I just think that we need to take a step back and really think about what we need and prioritize, regardless of how the money is going to be raised," Caywood said.

While the debate continues, other districts have approved turf in the past year:

• In January, residents of the Blind Brook school district approved borrowing $17.34 million to expand and renovate school buildings, and install artificial turf on the baseball and football fields at the middle and high school.
• In December, Ossining voters approved $8.3 million in borrowing plans that included an all-weather track with low-level lighting and a multipurpose artificial-turf field for the middle school.
• In October, Carmel voters approved an $850,000 plan to resurface the high school field with artificial turf.

Some earlier projects were more controversial. By not seeking voter approval for their artificial-turf projects in 2002, school officials in Eastchester, Greenburgh and Valhalla violated state laws, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi said Thursday.