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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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New science building on target

Paly assistant principal Chuck Merritt stated Friday that construction on the new science building is within a month of schedule, with a completion date in the summer of 2004. “Construction is surprisingly on-target…it is supposed to be finished sometime in the summer,” Merritt said. “It was supposed to be June, but now it may be closer to August or September.”

The new structure replaces what were previously upholstery and custodial services buildings, and will be approximately twice the size of the current science building. When completed, the new department will be equipped with ten full-size classrooms and ten offices, replacing the six current classrooms and three portables previously designated for science courses. “Three of the rooms will be for biology, three for chemistry, two for physics, and two for general sciences classes,” Merritt said. Storage facilities are also included in the blueprints.

Aside from basic classroom equipment, media projector to laptop connections are to be a standard resource in each room, as well as more adequately equipped labs.

Funding for the new building is provided in part by the Palo Alto Foundation for Education, which has donated over $1 million to Paly and Gunn science departments. “The new facilities are part of the school district’s Building for Excellence Program (B4E), which is investing over $100 million to upgrade 17 campuses district-wide,” states a newsletter distributed by PAFE. “In addition to furniture, audio-visual equipment and computers, PAFE will provide a long list of classroom items such as microscopes, telescopes, Petri dishes, binoculars, electronic balances, hot plates, and spectrophotometers.”

Despite large donations such as PAFE’s, many in the Paly community are still skeptical of the building’s benefits. “I’ll believe it when I see it — ever since groundbreaking was scheduled in 1996,” biology teacher Bruce Hori said. “If and when it is finished, it will be really great, especially if they stick to the ideas that the teachers wanted (and gave to the planners) in a science classroom – otherwise it will not be any better than things are now (tables, chairs, a few sinks and 6 walls).”

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