LHS Principal Robert Bennett dead of cancer

LACONIA — Laconia High School Principal Robert Bennett died Tuesday, Superintendent Steve Tucker has announced.

Bennett, who became principal in July 2020, died “after a valiant battle against cancer,” Tucker said in a letter emailed to members of the LHS community Tuesday afternoon. Bennett had been undergoing treatment for cancer for the past few months, he said.

“Mr. Bennett was a student-centered leader who believed that all people can learn,” Tucker said. "Though his time in Laconia was cut short, Principal Bennett loved being a Sachem and being a leader in our school community at LHS.”

Arrangements are being made to provide counseling support to students and their families who might need it, Tucker said.

Bennett came to LHS from Kearsarge Regional High School where he was principal. He came up through the ranks of Kearsarge Regional School District where, over a span of 25 years, he was a paraprofessional, teacher, assistant principal, and a principal. In addition to his work in the classroom and as an administrator, Bennett was also active in youth athletics, coaching multiple sports at the middle, high, and collegiate levels. Earlier this fall he was inducted into the Kearsarge Athletic Hall of Fame.

In an interview with The Daily Sun days after starting as LHS principal, Bennett said he was drawn to the Laconia school system because it had a character he found enticing.

“Even with the difficulties that this school district may have faced over the years, no matter who I talked to, I met people who told me there was a toughness and a grittiness,” he said. And it was that resilience and determination that attracted him. “Even in tough times this school district is the lifeblood of the community, and the school spirit is unmatched.”

Bennett’s death came less than a week after the Jim McCollum was officially named interim principal.

At the meeting on Oct. 19 when that decision was made, Tucker told the board Bennett was “sick and is not able to come to work, and right now is taking care of his health.”

Information about the availability of counseling for the school community, as well as information about any services will be announced by McCollum, Tucker said.