Several City High parents used the community comment period to urge the Iowa City Community School District board to retain and resurface the school's multipurpose field with artificial turf rather than converting it to grass or moving soccer off campus.

Emily Campbell said roughly 200 marching band students use the field daily for months as part of curriculum and extracurricular activity; she said the grounds crew cannot sustain the wear a marching band would inflict on grass and that moving practices to Bates Field would cost students roughly 10 minutes of instructional time daily. Julie Thomas, a longtime soccer parent, said City High lacks the campus space available at West or Liberty to provide separate practice and game fields; she said an overused grass field would become a muddy, rutted surface and that moving soccer off campus would harm campus safety and student access.

Megan Ruse, who said she had consulted Liberty High staff, detailed maintenance practices that she said would be "impossible" at City High, including resting grass fields, limiting who practices on grass and periodically shifting field use patterns to preserve turf. She argued modern "Generation 3" turf is widely used for soccer and is preferable to a badly maintained grass field. Trisha Jazer urged the board to ensure any resurfacings prioritize soccer lines and player safety and to consider higher injury risks for girls, asking that soccer not be treated as secondary to football.

No district decision was made at the meeting. Superintendent Degner said administration would present survey results and revisit the district's recommended plan; the board indicated it will review that information and then decide on next steps.