NORTH CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A school district in Lake County is breaking ground on a new middle school that is the first of its kind.
North Chicago School District 187 Superintendent John Price said the events marking the start of construction of the Neal Math and Science Academy is groundbreaking in more ways than one.
The new middle school is funded through a $40 million donation from North Chicago based pharmaceutical company AbbVie.
Price said this is the first time he can think of a local business funding the construction of a school.
"We looked for other people who have done this. We looked for a model, and we didn't find one in the country - a corporation giving a donation like this to a public school district," he said.
Additionally, Price said while AbbVie provided the money, it did not have any input on how the school was designed.
"AbbVie said 'we're going to give you the money, you decide the school. It's your instructional vision.' The school district, the teachers, the board, the leadership, we had absolute autonomy and freedom," Price said.
The COVID-19 pandemic did delay planning for the new school, but Price said it did not fundamentally alter the design.
"We did review the design really carefully and asked the question 'Do we need to change anything?' And we really came away with the conclusion of no," Price said.
Construction is now underway; and Price said the first class of students will enter the building in the fall of 2022.
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