With the new biotech building almost ready for students, teachers have begun to move into the new wing.
The new 13,000 square foot building supported by Bond Measure J will offer new restrooms, a conference room, and three classrooms with chemical preparation and storage areas when completed.
The building was expected to be finished before school began this semester, but has yet to be completed.
When asked about the delay in construction, the General Manager for the project stated that they were correcting a previously undiscovered design issue, and thus the building had not yet been cleared for students by a state inspector, but the building should be ready by December in time for the second semester.
The new classrooms will afford space for biology, AP biology and biotechnology classes.
Science Department head Tina Doss stated that the new building will allow more students to enroll in Carlmont’s biotech program next year.
She also commented that “the new facilities will allow students to develop real lab skills they can use in a college or professional environment.”
Also, she claimed that “We’ve gotten the opportunity to rent the labs over the summer to private companies.”
The building is also eco-friendly, with solar panels to help power the buildings’ climate control, which will offset heating costs.
More importantly, the new rooms are lined with brand-new equipment and untouched desks and will be able to accommodate many more students than the older rooms.
Biotech head Daniel Raffa said that the new rooms will allow “more opportunities for independent student research in each class,” and that the building will improve the overall quality and depth in the biotechnology classes.
Also, he stated that the biotechechnology teachers will now have the opportunity to enroll more students in the biology biotechnology programs due to the increased space afforded by the new building.
Raffa also said that the building would have a tissue-culturing area and hopes to have an outside garden for students.
Both teachers repeated that the new labs were unsurpassed in quality in the entire district and that teachers were more than eager to start classes in there as soon as possible. Doss stating that “some of my older students think the labs are nicer than the ones they use at college.”
The new building has drawn much attention around the school; however, not all of the attention is positive. Junior John Sattman said “We should be spending the money on teachers and the existing facilities.”
But other students are excited for the new building. Junior Daniel Johnson exclaimed that “I am extremely excited for the mysteries it could potentially hold within its hallowed walls.”

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