Brockton, MA – MassDevelopment has issued a $6,732,000 tax-exempt bond on behalf of New Heights Charter School of Brockton, a tuition-free public charter school, which used proceeds to buy its building at 1690 Main St. in Brockton.
New Heights serves students in grades six through 12 and has leased and operated the 58,000sf school building, a former Verizon headquarters, since 2016. BayCoast Bank purchased the bond, which MassDevelopment also enhanced with a charter school loan guarantee.
“As Horace Mann said, education is the ‘great equalizer of the conditions’ of people, so helping New Heights Charter School take ownership of its building allows us to play a small part in the work to better the quality of life for students and families in the gateway city of Brockton and surrounding communities,” said MassDevelopment president and CEO, Dan Rivera. “This collaboration with BayCoast Bank marks an exciting new chapter for New Heights, which was able to secure a permanent residency and will be able to reduce expenses in the long term.”
New Heights Charter School serves students from all backgrounds and abilities from Brockton, Randolph, and Taunton. The school adheres to an “Early College High School” education model where students are introduced to the demands and benefits of college and develop necessary skills for student success. New Heights partners with Massasoit Community College to prepare students to earn up to 12 free, transferable college credits while in high school. The maximum tuition reimbursement capacity for the school is 735 students. The school’s charter was previously renewed and its current charter is effective from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026.
“Purchasing this building has allowed us to save a significant amount of funding, which our board has chosen to use towards increasing teachers’ salaries,” said New Heights Charter School of Brockton executive director, Omari Walker. “As a result, we now have a first rate facility that we can offer our students and families, and at the same time improve our teacher retention during this time of staff shortages by reappropriating these funds in a very useful manner.”
