Kids are finally playing on new turf and playgrounds in Santa Maria
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Elementary students finally get to play on new turf at a few schools in Santa Maria.
The kids are enjoying the refurbishments.
For the fall semester of 2024, four elementary schools in Santa Maria had no playgrounds, and a fifth school had its soccer field closed.
“It was hard because our our kids here, they love soccer and we have soccer tournaments that were happening at lunchtime. And we had to stop all of that for a while,” says Shandee Bayne, Bonita Elementary School’s principal.
After a few months of patiently waiting, the playgrounds are now open at Alvin, Fairlawn, Tunnell and Ontiveros.
“They got to watch the whole process so they would stand along the fence line and watch as they added the rocks and the different, the different layers underneath. And they would talk to the workers and find out how they were making all this happen. So that was entertaining to them while they waited for the field,” says principal Bayne.
Thursday morning a fifth school, Bonita elementary, finally re-opened its soccer field, now adorned with artificial turf instead of natural grass.
“Our maintenance and operations crew, they work hard every day. And this is something that they're very proud of and actually had kids thanking them for the work that they're doing,” says Darren McDuffie, Santa Maria-Bonita School District superintendent.
Staff say this new turf will not only be easier to maintain year-round, it’s also better for game play, as the uneven ground, irrigation and sewage manholes, and bald spots are now a figment of the past.
“Play is really important to them and their development. And so being able to have a feel that safe to do that on, I really just appreciate that. And and our kids do too,” says principal Bayne.
The district says playgrounds weren't ready for the start of the new school year because of a backlog in state approval for construction, and a delay in finding a contractor that met federal funding requirements.
