SPHS | New STEM Building Set to Open Jan 22

Occupancy of the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) building at South Pasadena High was postponed in order for the contractor to refinish the science lab floors to the district’s satisfaction

PHOTO: Bill Glazier | SouthPasadenan.com | Occupancy of the new STEM building at South Pasadena High has been postponed in order for the contractor to refinish the science lab floors to the district’s satisfaction,” said South Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Geoff Yantz. School District officials expect to occupy the building Tuesday, January 22, following the three-day weekend. Above photo taken in December 2018

The opening of a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Building on the South Pasadena High campus will be Tuesday, January 22, announced Superintendent Geoff Yantz this week.“Occupancy of the STEM building was postponed in order for the contractor to refinish the science lab floors to the district’s satisfaction,” wrote Yantz in an email.

Earlier, district officials talked about completing the project in December with the hope of students moving into the building on Monday, January 8, for the start of the school’s second semester or early January if that date wasn’t met.

Students won’t have to wait much longer for a state-of-the-art building.

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“We’re very excited for the school, the students, the teachers who will benefit from this building,” said Yantz in December.

The project, on the Diamond Avenue side of campus, will feature four science labs, six regular classrooms for mathematics instruction, a flex lab (allowing for different programs to be taught), a conference room, student and faculty restrooms, and a locker room for the softball team.

In the science labs, chemistry, along with physics, will primarily be instructed.

“These labs are much needed,” insisted Yantz. “The current situation requires teachers to share labs, having them move to room to room to room. There’s just an overall demand for more science labs.”

Bulldozers started clearing the area, including a pair of tennis courts, in late 2017.

Construction is being funded from Measure SP, the local $98 million bond measure passed by South Pasadena voters in November 2016.

“This is the most substantial project, the largest, using Measure SP funds,” explained Yantz. “It’s a project the (school) board had started discussing about 10 years ago, talking about the need and now it’s being accomplished. We’re fortunate the community supported Measure SP and getting close to completion with this project.