Major Middle School Science Lab Overhaul Planned In Berlin

BERLIN, CT — The town's school system is embarking on a massive upgrade to the local middle school's science classrooms.

But there's a lot of work just to get to the major planning stages.

At the Berlin Board of Education's last meeting on Nov. 27, the town's educational policy-making group voted 9-0 on the educational specifications of the science classroom project at Catherine M. McGee Middle School.

Located at 899 Norton Road, Berlin, McGee — Berlin's lone middle school — was built in 1968, with the most recent renovations being in 2010.

The school has about 591 children in grades 6-8, according to the educational specification document.

School officials said the science labs —five in all — need a makeover to keep up with modern STEM educational requirements.

"The laboratory classrooms have been a pressing concern for school administration and the parents of our students for a very long period," reads the educational specifications document created by Berlin Public Schools.

"Their age and condition make it increasingly challenging to offer the space and level of instruction expected in a modern and conducive learning environment."

The specifications call for the renovation, modernizing, and upgrade of all five science labs there.

"These areas have been used for student instruction for decades without any substantial construction or equipment improvements," reads the specifications.

Last October, the school board asked the Berlin Town Council to include the middle school science lab project on the town's capital improvement budget for the next fiscal year.

But early cost estimates, which have not been finalized, indicated the need to bond those expenses and eventually be decided at the polls, school officials said.

As a precursor to that, however, the board of education must vote on a list of educational specifications, essentially what is needed and why, before significant planning can begin.

Those specifications were approved 9-0 by the full board last month.

The specifications are now before the town council, which will outline the next steps in planning for the upgrade.

For the minutes of the Nov. 27 Berlin Board of Education meeting, click on this link.

For documents related to the science lab upgrades, click on this link and scroll to Page 17.