The Benton School Board honored several students with Panther Pride awards at a meeting on Monday night. Elizabeth Armstrong, Morgan Calaway, Abigail Fogleman, Blair Francis and Trevor Tucker were honored as National Merit Scholar finalists. The group is chosen based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments. Benton High School Principal Curt Barger said the winners for the scholarships will be selected this summer.
The Benton High School Chess team was honored for winning the 2023 state championships in March. Ethan Rose and Will Young led the group defeating teams from North Little Rock, Bryant and Little Rock Central. Todd Bevill is the BHS Chess sponsor. This is the team's fourth state championship in the last nine years.
In regular business, the board approved the district’s audit for the recent fiscal year. Chief Financial Officer Chris Hinson said they were no findings in the audit and that the district passed with “flying colors.” Board President Paul Childress complimented Hinson on his work and said audits like this one have been typical since Hinson started in the role.
The board also approved the purchase of new playground equipment to replace broken playground equipment that is currently located on the 3rd and 4th-grade playground for Howard Perrin Elementary. The Parent Teacher organization of the elementary school raised funds to purchase the equipment and the board voted to match the funds raised by the PTO. The company providing the equipment is Happy Playgrounds, LLC.
Transportation Director Danny Revis presented a report on the transportation department. He said the department is currently down one driver from being fully staffed and is actively looking to fill the role. Revis mentioned that they have one potential new driver being trained at this time. He also told the board that he is looking forward to getting information on the new elementary zones which will include the new elementary school opening next year.
