More science lab woes

I noted poor school science lab conditions before, but it looks like the problem just isn’t going away here in Florida:

This is just sad

Science facilities are so poor at one of Jacksonville’s best high schools, that a science teacher began renovating them himself.

Jim Stehr of Fletcher High School went to Home Depot, then built and installed three lab tables and five sinks, reported Shorelines, a Times-Union supplement.

But he couldn’t connect sinks to the school’s plumbing without ruining a $1 million warranty with a school contractor.

Here’s a full article on the problem from earlier this year:

Fletcher’s effort began in 1998, when school staff asked administrators to upgrade the science facilities by adding wet labs. It was denied.

Four years ago, school officials requested lab tables to make P8 more “science compatible.” Again, it was denied. That’s when Stehr pitched in and confronted the warranty problem.

In 2005, the School Board was asked to modify the plumbing in the P8 lab. That request is still pending.

…

Presently, only two of Fletcher’s six science classrooms have access to gas, which is needed to conduct many science projects.

Based on the school’s population and academic requirements, there are about 71 students for each science lab at Fletcher High. That’s almost three times the state limit for class size, said SAC Chairwoman Cindy Anderson.

Here is a picture of Stehr with the tables he built himself.