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Nelson resigns from Benton School District
Laura Nelson
Dr. Laura Nelson - photo by Dena Harris

BENTON—The Benton School District is once again seeking a district administrator for the 2017-18 school year.
Dr. Laura Nelson, who started July 1, presented her letter of resignation at the Aug. 9 school board meeting.

“I made a mistake on my teacher retirement system and need five more years in the Illinois system,” Nelson said.
Her last day was Aug. 10. She said she was hired for a position in Illinois, but did not want to share any details about the specific role.

Board president Ryan Carver said he was made aware of the issue a few days before the school board meeting. The board accepted Nelson’s resignation on Aug. 9 and discussed plans to secure a new district administrator before the start of the school year.

“We are exploring any and all options,” Carver said. “There is still a possibility of having someone in place before school starts.”

The school has been in contact with CESA and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to see if any retired administrators would like to take the part-time position of Benton’s district administrator. There was also a promising candidate from the previous hiring process that they were going to contact.

On Wednesday, the board also accepted a donation from the Benton State Bank. The school needed CPR equipment to train students in the health class. The equipment was estimated to cost $800. It will be in the classroom during first semester of the health class.

The school’s trap shooting program was modified to include sixth through 12th grades. The program began last year as a high school option. Of the 85 schools participating in trap shooting, Benton was the only school that didn’t include middle school grades.