Kate Weymouth said she made a discovery while collecting signatures for a petition opposing the installation of a synthetic turf field at Barrington High School: Nearly 100 percent of the people she spoke with believed they had already voted down turf fields during the November election. 

Weymouth, a former member of the Barrington Town Council, said residents had no idea that the school committee had voted in July 2024 to renovate the Victory Field athletic complex with a new track and a new multi-sport synthetic turf surface. 

Weymouth said the November ballot questions led residents to believe that they were voting on whether to allow the construction of a turf field anywhere in town. 

“…you believed you were either voting for artificial turf or you believed you were voting against artificial turf,” Weymouth said in a recent interview. 

The petition carries a title “Stop Artificial Turf at Victory Field” and reads: “Please sign below if you are interested in joining a class action suit against the Barrington School Committee for their decision to spend $4.5 million of surplus taxpayer dollars to replace Victory Field at BHS with artificial turf, which is in direct conflict with the voters’ overwhelming rejection of artificial turf anywhere in the Town of Barrington.”

Weymouth said approximately 200 people have signed the petition.