Bennington board approves three-year ParentSquare contract for district communications

The Bennington Public Schools Board of Education approved a three-year agreement with ParentSquare for the district's mass communication system at its meeting. The contract was presented as a consolidation of existing services — phone, text and email — into a single platform that also offers two‑way messaging, newsletter production and website integration.

District staff said ParentSquare includes capabilities comparable to the district's current mix of apps and that the vendor built several features into one platform. “The one that we are recommending is ParentSquare. And that one there is a little bit of a higher cost in year 1 due to that implementation. But as you can see, their implementation cost was significantly lower than all the other companies as well,” a staff presenter said. The presenter added that ParentSquare “truly is comprehensive of a platform.”

The district explained the platform would allow teachers and coaches to send two‑way text messages that parents and students can receive as texts or view in a parent app, describing this as similar to Mynd-style messaging used in other organizations. The presenter said the district worked with ParentSquare to lock a per‑student price for three years, with an option to extend to five years.

Staff provided cost context during the discussion. The district is currently paying “just over $14,550” annually for a set of separate apps that cover similar services. The proposed contract shows a higher first‑year cost because of implementation fees, then lower recurring costs; the presenter described a per‑unit price range shown in the vendor materials (transcript figures: $14.05 to $18.03) but did not specify the unit these figures represent in the meeting.

Board members said consolidating into one platform would simplify workflows for secretaries, principals and teachers by reducing steps when creating newsletters and ensuring consistent communications as students move between grade levels. One board member noted that the newsletter tool can incorporate Canva and that current newsletter licenses are limited to 10 users; the presenter said using ParentSquare would remove the need to purchase additional newsletter licenses.

A board member moved to approve the three‑year agreement “between Bennington Public Schools and ParentSquare as presented.” The motion was seconded and passed on a roll call vote: Christie — Yes; Joe — Yes; Steve — Yes; Jeremy — Yes; Tim — Yes.

The board moved on to its next agenda item after the vote.