Biotech building almost open for business

Cloning African violet tissue can be tricky if not done in the right setting.

A sterile environment is key. Having the advanced biotechnology classes in an old wood shop — an environment that is anything but sterile even when kept very clean — drops the classes success rate to about 40 percent, said San Mateo High School biotech teacher Jimmy Ikeda.

That success rate will hopefully increase after Nov. 4 when the biotech program at San Mateo High School officially moves into a new multi-million dollar building. It is one of a number of projects going up at local schools partially subsidized using state grant money. Specifically, schools are benefiting from grants of up to $3 million given under Proposition 1D supporting career technical education. San Mateo High’s two-story building is the second project in the San Mateo Union High School District to benefit from the funds but far from the last.

"The strength of this program doesn’t lie on a few people,” said Ikeda. "It’s everybody helping out.”

Last night’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was the first time for students and the public alike to get a glimpse of the $9.2 million building which features 9,000 square feet of instructional space on the ground floor; an 18-station laboratory; a bio-manufacturing room and independent research laboratory; a plant tissue culture facility; a chemical stockroom and storage area; a bio-imaging room; computer research area and a student conference area. The second floor boasts a 4,000-square-foot conference room and distance learning facility to host guest speakers and facilitate video conferencing. Upstairs also has a spot for a greenhouse, long-term storage and staff offices.

The San Mateo Biotechnology Career Pathway program started in 1997. Set up in the old wood shop, the science-curriculum was faced with issues, explained Ikeda. While the room is spacious, it was built with wood shop in mind not science. It’s difficult to keep sterile and maintain temperatures, both of which can change the outcomes of labs and affect the equipment, he said.

Ikeda and fellow biotech teacher Ellyn Daugherty decided to apply for the career technical grant funds to provide a more fitting environment. Along with the construction costs came new equipment — a rarity in high school science labs today.

In December 2008, the district was awarded a number of grants totaling over $11 million for projects including $3 million for the new San Mateo biotech laboratory. Housing the four-year program which offers internship opportunities to students in the biotech field was only possible with the support of voters — the grant augmented money from Measure M, a $298 million bond measure voters approved in 2006 — donors, teachers, San Mateo County of Education and mentors, said Ikeda.

Ikeda is excited to watch the students’ success rate hopefully increase on experiments, like the African violet cloning cultures. Variables that can’t be controlled in the current facility are causing some students to fail, he said.

A new biotechnology building is one example of projects subsidized by grant money.

The district has actively sought such opportunities to do more with the bond money, explained Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Elizabeth McManus.

A small video production center has already opened at Mills High School, she said. At Hillsdale High School, the money will allow a new media arts facility project to be expanded to consolidate unused practice rooms into a sound and video recording studio, which should be the next to open.

Construction has begun at Burlingame High School which has two projects benefiting from the funds — $891,000 for the construction of a 3,912-square-foot building trades construction facility and purchase of books, tools, cabinets and more; and $2.75 million to reconstruct facilities to create a new two-story building to house specialty classroom space designed for arts, media and entertainment courses.

At Capuchino High School, the money will be used toward a new building and equipment for courses in media and design arts.

Construction at Aragon High School to boost digital photography, animation and computer programming and courses in engineering technology, architectural design and robotics, is scheduled to be the final project. McManus estimates it will open in about two years.

Money is also earmarked to enhance facilities in the Sequoia Union High School District working with funds from Measure J, a $165 million bond passed in 2008.

A number of facilities have opened thus far with the career technical education focus, said district spokeswoman Bettylu Smith.

Among the new facilities are a 4,300-square-foot science and engineering facility at Woodside High School that supports the school’s robotics program and the new Green Academy, a small learning community that prepares students for further academic study and careers in a rapidly growing green economy; and a 3,900-square-foot biotechnology facility at Sequoia High School that supports the school’s new Health Academy that offers instruction in core subject areas along with a specialized focus on preparing students for college study and careers in medicine.

Sequoia applied for additional funds, which were ranked well by the state however California officials have yet to disclose when or if the money will be released to schools. If released the money will augment plans for a 12,860-square-foot biotechnology facility at Carlmont High School; media and design arts facilities at Woodside and Menlo-Atherton high schools; and a new 8,000-square-foot facility at Sequoia High School, in combination with the school’s historic Carrington Hall, will accommodate hands-on project-based training for a greater depth and breadth of performing arts instruction.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.