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Contractors are wrapping up two field renovations that together cost $2.9 million at Mountain View and Los Altos high schools just in time for the beginning of the Mountain View Los Altos High School District’s school year.
The projects, unanimously approved 5-0 by the school board on May 4, include the replacement of the track overlays and artificial turf football fields at Mountain View and Los Altos high schools. They’re set to be complete by the first day of instruction, Aug. 10.
The projects, funded by Measure E, cost approximately $1.43 million at Mountain View and $1.48 million at Los Altos. Measure E was approved by voters in 2018 and is a $295-million bond measure that funds facility upgrades and improvements.
Superintendent Eric Volta told the Mountain View Voice that the artificial fields needed to be replaced for safety reasons. About a year ago, Volta said the district had artificial turf contractor FieldTurf check the field after staff noticed the turf blades were laying flat. FieldTurf is also the contractor installing the fields.
“They said we had about one more year’s worth of use on the field,” Volta said. “So that’s when we made the decision to replace them this summer.”
The complete fields are being replaced, Volta said, and the district is shifting to a greener infill material with the new turf as a response to community concerns over the previous rubberized infill. The new fields will have a mixture of cork and sand infill.
Volta added that the fields were around 12 years old. The normal lifespan of the artificial turf field the district installed ranged from eight to 10 years, he said. The track surrounding the fields also needed a new topcoat because the outer layer was failing, which could have led to greater problems and a full removal of the rubberized tack and underlay, Volta added.
He said that the board’s priority when approving the projects was the safety of district facilities and ensuring thoughtful use of funds.
“We wanted to make sure that we did not create a more expensive fix with our track,” Volta said. “We want to make sure we get more life out of our track just by resurfacing it as opposed to letting it break down.”
