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Tarbabe
Teachers, Students Breathing Sigh of Relief Over Rehabbed Science Labs
Two 63-year-old
buildings get much-needed facelift; project comes in under budget
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin
Editor
COMPTON—Just
three months ago, the science lab buildings on Compton High’s
Acacia Street campus were so run down and ill equipped in which to
adequately teach that the district was in violation of two separate
state court rulings.
Ceiling tiles and portions of decaying windowsills routinely fell
and hit students. Windows lacked blinds or any other form of coverings.
Fire alarms and extinguishers were nonfunctional or missing altogether.
Only one classroom in one building featured an emergency shower, required
by law when chemicals are in use. Emergency eye-washing stations were broken.
Rooms where chemicals were used lacked proper ventilation systems. Running
water was a commodity and natural gas flow—something crucial in science
lab instruction—was nonexistent.
The buildings were so dilapidated that the school district at one
point considered discontinuing all science lab instruction at the high
school this school year.
But this week, thanks to the swift action of the Compton Unified
School District Board of Trustees and the speedy work of contractor Del
Terra over the summer, students and teachers are enjoying what they call
a highly superior environment.
All ceiling tiles, which were previously held up only by 60-year-old
glue, have been secured with screws. Each room now has its own separate
HVAC unit, which not only provides heat in the winter and air conditioning
in the warmer months, but also proper ventilation. The decaying wooden
flooring in X Building classrooms was stripped and refinished, and now
has a shiny new gleam. Cracked and damaged desk and countertops were repaired
and replaced.
Each room now contains a fire extinguisher and emergency eyewash
station. Emergency showers were added to all chemistry classrooms. The
gas leak was repaired, and natural-gas flow was restored to all classrooms.
Classrooms that didn’t have sinks now do, and the decrepit sinks
found in some classrooms were torn out and replaced. All rooms now have
hot water. Student workstations have been replaced, and sliding chalkboards
that were previously broken have been replaced with working whiteboards.
Both buildings feature a fresh coat of paint.
These changes were all part of the original scope of work. Del Terra’s
Delbert E. Benson, director of construction services, said several unforeseen
conditions necessitating attention were discovered as work was being completed.
Unanticipated repairs included the repair and replacement of underground
water valves and piping, which were situated far too close to the surface
to be safe, and lead abatement in several classrooms.
Additionally, in some rooms where potentially dangerous chemicals
are kept, black bars covered the windows and gave off a sense of imprisonment.
Del Terra painted those bars to match the window coverings so that now
they are barely detectable. Electrical panels were added to the floors,
and desks with electrical wiring installed so that experiments requiring
electricity can be conducted at each student’s own station.
It’s little details like that, Benson said, that really make the
difference in a learning environment.
School board officials agree.
“I was really excited, and I was just amazed at the rooms over there,” said
board member Satra Zurita, who recently toured the buildings. “The
students—they looked so happy. That’s what this is all about.”
Zachary Hollinger, the student board member, agrees.
“I know, as a student, that if you walk into a classroom, a cleaner
environment makes you want to learn,” he said.
Even with the additional work, the project came in roughly $225,000
under its $2 million budget, Del Terra officials said—a fact that
drew a round of applause from most board members at last week’s board
meeting.
School board member Joel Estrada said it was an example of Del Terra’s
honesty and integrity, as contractors all too often milk the district for
every last dime.
But board member Mae Thomas still takes issue with the cost and the
district’s hiring a contractor to complete work she believes facilities
and maintenance staff could have completed.
“It’s lookin’ nice, but I have a problem with what it
cost,” Thomas
said. “I see a lot of handiwork. Our people, our employees, could
have done that. I’m here for the taxpayers and (to watch) how the
money is spent.”
Superintendent Kaye. E. Burnside pointed out that, because the scope
of work was so large, the district was required by state law to contract
out.
Benson said that district workers were an integral part of the process.
“And the work came in under bid, so that extra money is allowing
us to do some other things,” Burnside added.
A boost in morale was obvious during an exclusive tour The Bulletin
took of the rehabilitated facilities last Thursday.
Teacher LaKeisha White, who complained before the board last spring,
said she’s finally happy.
“We have air, and the work is good,” she said.
Fifteen-year-old Zita Jorqueres, a student in White’s Room X3 health
class, said the facilities are “cool and better.”
Biology teacher Merlinda Torreon scoffed when asked if she thought
the repairs had improved the learning environment.
“It’s a totally different thing,” Torreon said. “This
one (classroom), it was dirty, dirty. We had no blinds, so last year
I had curtains. I had my husband come in here and put up the curtains.
“They like it very much,” she said of her students, “and
in terms of lab activity, we can really perform now. And the gas—I’m
excited to use that.”
Tenth-grader Chris Bryant, a student in Calista Odibo’s biology classroom
in the Y Building, said of the classrooms: “They’re amazing.”
Odibo said the difference is like “night and day.”
Next door, honors chemistry teacher Ceron Christie described her
room as “clean, fresh and invigorating.”
Late last spring, she had described her classroom as “dirty,” “nasty” and “unhealthy.”
In June, the board unanimously approved an emergency resolution to
hire Del Terra, the district’s current contracted facilities project
manager, without going to bid.
Del Terra was tasked with completing repairs over the summer in order
to get Buildings X and Y into a functional and safe state by Sept. 2, the
first day of school.
Although modernization work was completed on the campus during the
district’s embattled facilities modernization program, which was
halted over a year ago by the former superintendent due to fund depletion,
the science lab buildings were not part of that scope of work.
Benson said work is nearly complete and, aside from plans to replace
asbestos-containing floor tiles in the halls of the X Building and throughout
the Y Building, only a few minor touches remain.
The floor tile replacement will occur during Christmas break. Funding
for the venture will be obtained through a state-level emergency program
resulting from one of the court rulings the school was in violation of
up until the rehab work was completed.
Del Terra and its team of subcontractors worked feverishly around
the clock to ensure the buildings would be finished come the first day
of school, even working through the Labor Day weekend.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony has been tentatively set for sometime in
January, district officials said.
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