BEVERLY — A major renovation project at Northshore Education Consortium will lead to higher tuition but also preserve a program that serves the area’s neediest students.
The consortium has begun an $12 million project to replace the HVAC system and make other improvements at its main building at 112 Sohier Road in Beverly. Without it, the organization risked having to close its Kevin O’Grady School that serves more than 100 students ages 3-22 with significant developmental disabilities, Northshore Education Consortium Executive Director Francine Rosenberg said.
Those students would not be been able to go to school if the aging HVAC system broke down on a hot summer day. And she said there are no viable alternate locations because the building is specially equipped to handle the students’ needs. Half of the classrooms have built-in overhead lifts, and there is also a fully accessible playground.
“If the AC fails during a heat wave, we can’t just say, ‘Let’s go find a wading pool or a shady tree,” Rosenberg said. “These are kids in wheelchairs and with breathing tubes and feeding tubes. They would literally not be able to come to school.”
Without a new HVAC system, she said the O’Grady School would be in danger of closing.
The project began in April and is expected be completed in January. The O’Grady School is a year-round program, so the work has to be done after school on the second shift, from 3 to 10 p.m., which also contributes to higher costs, Rosenberg said.
In addition to a new HVAC system, the project includes a new roof, upgrades to the electrical system, replacement of four boilers, heat in the stairwell in entryway, temperature control zone valves, a safe roof access ladder, and a new skylight.
Tuition is going up in part because of the $12 million project. The consortium’s board of directors, which is made up of superintendents or school committee members from its 20 member districts, approved a budget that includes a 10% tuition increase for most of the consortium’s programs, and a 14% increase at the O’Grady School. Tuition is paid by the student’s home district, Rosenberg said.
“It was difficult for them to support a project that expensive with the budget stresses they have in their own cities and towns,” she said. “But at the end of the day our districts supported the need for this project. It came with a big price tag, but we didn’t see any other viable options, and our board really took seriously their responsibility to serve our most vulnerable kiddos.”
The Northshore Education Consortium was founded in 1975 and is the largest provider of special education programs on the North Shore. It serves more than 450 of students with emotional, behavioral and developmental disabilities from over 60 school districts.
In addition to the O’Grady School, the Sohier Road building is home to Northshore Recovery High School and the consortium’s business office. Consortium programs are also operated at its neighboring building at 126 Sohier Road and at locations in Peabody, Topsfield and Salem State University.
Northshore Education Consortium will pay for the project in part through a $9.4 million tax-exempt bond issued by MassDevelopment, the state’s finance agency and land bank. The bond, which was purchased by M&T Bank, helped NEC “achieve a lower cost of capital,” according an announcement by MassDevelopment.
“These renovations will provide an improved educational experience for students and faculty at the Kevin O’Grady School and Northshore Recovery High School and reinforce the building for the long term,” Acting MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan O’Connell said.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.