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Renovations are greatly needed

We continue to hear folks question the need for a renovation of the science wing. We often hear that DCHS wants to spend money on frivolous items and that we only need a little repair. Let us put it simply and directly: the science department at DCHS is falling apart. There have been no renovations or significant repairs or upgrades, since the school was built (circa 1970).

We could easily make a list of things concerning safety, lighting, electricity, HVAC, inadequate and unsafe chemical and materials storage, greenhouse deterioration, space and equipment for lab preparation and student work, and equipment for teaching modern biology and chemistry, but allow us to give you a little information about conditions regarding only the casework and related furnishings.

The original casework served the school well for about 25 years of daily student use. This is the expected lifetime of such furnishings. Now, at 40 years, the cabinetry is literally disintegrating. Drawers stick, locks are inoperable, and doors and hinges are broken. Chemicals have eaten through shelving. Sliding glass doors (installed before OSHA safety glass requirements) no longer slide, nor are they able to be secured. Counter tops are pulling free of deteriorating bases. Cabinetry for storage of chemicals and tools is aged and damaged and fails to meet required safety standards.

Few lab sinks hold water or have a working drain. One lab has no sinks. Another classroom has only two faucets that work out of 12. Water and gas lines have been cut and capped to prevent leakage. These systems can only be replaced from lines underneath the concrete floor. The water faucets have no replacement parts available. Gas for most of the science wing has been shut off for 10 years, due to disintegration of an outside gas line, failure of the jets, and because of numerous gas leaks in copper tubing under the tables and the concrete floor.

As surroundings and equipment fail around us, we have chosen to drop curriculum for the sake of safety. This means we simply cannot have authentic experiences in the classroom that we need to keep our students competitive and to create the next generation of critically thinking and scientifically literate adults.

DCHS Science Department:

Kirk A. Janowiak, chair; Jessica Berger, Kathy Davis,

and Michael Lewis