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Bennington board affirms policies, approves tennis-court contracts, raises substitute pay and extends superintendent contract
Summary
At its July 14 meeting the Bennington Board of Education reaffirmed student-fee and parental-involvement policies, approved 17 policy changes, awarded multiple contracts for tennis courts at the second high school, raised substitute pay and approved a $300 semester retention bonus, and approved the superintendent's contract for 2025-26 through 2027-28.
Bennington Board of Education members voted unanimously July 14 to reaffirm multiple district policies and approve a package of administrative actions, including contract awards for a new tennis-court package at the district's second high school, increases to substitute pay and a retention bonus, and the superintendent's employment contract.
The board first completed a second reading and approved 17 proposed policy revisions. The board then voted to reaffirm the student fee policy (504.19), with the chair noting there had been no public feedback during the earlier hearing. On the parental involvement policy (1005.03) the board took the same action; both motions passed on roll call with all members present voting yes.
District administrators presented a series of contract awards for an early tennis-court bid package associated with the second high school. The administration described the package as one half of an originally scoped six-court plan; the pre-construction estimate for the half-package was $635,000 and the bid total was $661,611. The board approved awards to the named subcontractors as presented: Ramsport Services ($350,040) for surfacing; Ashland Road Excavating ($139,199) for grading and drainage; Mall Electric Service ($122,959) for electrical and lighting; House and Construction ($43,000) for site control; and Dallas Nursery ($6,313) for landscaping. The administration said the district hopes to recover some costs on the companion package when work can be combined.
On personnel and compensation matters the board approved a curriculum/personnel recommendation to authorize a head girls wrestling coach position (proposal #13) and approved changes to substitute pay. The board increased the short-term substitute rate to $175 and the long-term rate to $190. Members also approved a retention-bonus program that would pay a $300 bonus per semester to substitute staff who work at least 60% of eligible days during the post-Thanksgiving and spring windows. Administration estimated payout in a typical year would be in the neighborhood of $5,500 to $6,000 if fully paid.
The board approved a resolution setting recommended annual training-minute guidelines tied to recent statutory changes (noted in the transcript as "LV 13 29"). Administration outlined suggested minutes for specific topics (for example: 34 minutes for dating-violence prevention and 60 minutes for suicide-prevention training), and the board adopted the resolution for the 2025-26 school year.
Finally, the board approved the superintendent contract for Dr. Aaron Bos covering the 2025-26 through 2027-28 school years. The contract posting and summary were completed as required by the superintendent pay-transparency act, and the motion to approve carried on a unanimous roll call.
The meeting record shows all formal motions noted above passed on recorded roll-call votes. The board scheduled its next regular meeting for Aug. 11 and listed related budget- and strategic-plan meetings leading up to required budget deadlines in September.
