Palm Springs HS cleaning up glass from overseeding mistake

Thousands of chunks of tempered glass scattered on the Palm Springs high school football field forced the team to move its Friday night football game against Palm Desert to Rancho Mirage high school. The pieces of glass are still on the field, creating a concern for some parents. “It is not safe for anybody,” said Fernando Silva. “You have to take care of that.”

Luckily, someone spotted the glass before any stepped foot on the field on Friday, leaving administrators to sort out how it got there. “Friday we came down here and figured out the mulch we used was contaminated,” said Dennis Zink, Palm Springs high school athletic director and vice principal.

The mulch was bought from an outside company to overseed the grass, a typical procedure this time of year in the desert. The mistake means the field will stay closed until every piece gets picked up. “Our biggest concern is student safety,” said Zink. “We’re going to keep everyone off the field participating in football, soccer, all the other sporting activities we can until we’re 100% sure there’s no danger to students.”

Keeping kids safe means finding a new place for the football team to practice and dealing with the challenge of losing a space used every single day. “Whether it’s P.E. classes, sporting events, etc. ” said Zink. “It’s a burden for the school when we can’t use a field as large as this.”

It might be a burden, but the only solution for parents who trust the school with the well-being of their children. “You have to protect them all and I believe they’re going to do that,” said Silva.

The district and the school are still looking at solutions and do not have a timeline on when the field will reopen.