BEVERLY — Colleen Dolan, director of public services for the Reading Public Schools, will take the reins this summer as executive director of the Northshore Education Consortium.
The Peabody resident starts July 1 and will earn an annual salary of $141,000.
"I have been a special education director for six years now," Dolan said in an interview this week.
Before Reading, she worked as director of special services in the Lynnfield Public Schools. Both districts are members of the consortium, which has made her familiar with its services.
"I'm not really starting from scratch," she said, "so it should be a smooth transition."
Her experience in a public school setting also gives her a good perspective on the high costs of funding special education, and Dolan said she's committed to working with all 18 member districts to provide discounted resources, such as bringing in professional development specialists at a reduced cost and partnering with Endicott College to have students take part in summer programs.
Her willingness to work with administrators and move the collaboration beyond special needs is one of the main reasons she got the job, said Marcia O'Neil, chairwoman of the executive board and superintendent of the Manchester Essex Regional School District.
The search committee received 32 applications, narrowed the pool to nine semifinalists, then two finalists, before picking Dolan for the job.
"What pushed us toward her is she really had a vision in terms of the organization looking at possible expanding roles," O'Neil said.
That's a direction the consortium has started taking under the leadership of current Executive Director Bob Gass, developing a summer program for kids who are academically talented and working to improve curriculum through a Teaching American History federal grant.
As executive director for the last nine years, Gass has seen the membership grow from 12 to 18 school districts, helped secure quality spaces for all of the consortium's programs and increased fundraising and outreach. He's retiring in June.
Dolan said she's looking forward to expanding on many of those efforts, and O'Neil said she's perfect for the job.
"I think," O'Neil said, "that she'll be a good leader to take the consortium into the next era."
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salem news.com.
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