New STEM Building at LAHS in final days of construction

Construction crews are cleaning up in anticipation of the August 24 Community Open House as the new $67 million STEM building is set to open. Courtesy photo

Los Alamitos High School students will soon have a new facility to learn chemistry, physics, engineering and more.

Construction on a new three-story 86,000 square foot building is wrapping up right now. The gleaming STEM building with 30 classrooms is slated to welcome students on August 15, when classes start for the 2022-23 school year.

This week concrete was scheduled to be poured outside the impressive building that has been emerging at the intersection of Los Alamitos Boulevard and Cerritos Avenue. Furniture will be assembled and moved in around August 1 and teachers can start accessing classrooms and labs August 8.

At the July 12 Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education workshop, C.J. Knowland, the Director of Facilities, Maintenance, Operations, Transportation for the district, gave a presentation on the progress.

Knowland mentioned some recent challenges in the construction process including the delay of getting a fiber cable. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence the building would be ready. “We do expect it all to be complete,” Knowland said. He emphasized that the priority has been on getting classrooms finished and functional for students.

“This project is a huge project for the community, the school district and I’m not gonna lie, also for me. I’m really proud of the work that our whole team has put into it. And we’re really trying to really wrap it up nicely for  the start of the school year,” Knowland told board members.

The $67 million STEM building is being paid for with bond money from Measure G which voters approved in 2018.

An invitation-only ribbon cutting ceremony at the STEM building will take place on August 24. That same day, the community is invited to tour the building during an Open House from 6-7:30p.m., according to Los Alamitos USD Public Information Officer Nichole Pichardo. Pichardo said more details about the Open House will be made public soon.

Want more local education news? Subscribe to the Spotlight Schools email newsletter at SpotlightSchools.com.