Check ebay. You should be able to find a ton of stuff under $300. Here's new pair of K2 Burnin Luv's (advanced ski though) with bindings for $249 shipped. Decent women's skis can be had cheap.
http://cgi.ebay.com/K2-BURNIN-LUV-11-0-Womens-Skis-160-w-Bindings-LOVE-NEW_W0QQitemZ130346836231QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSkiing?hash=item1e5946e107
Weather.com seems to have revised their lows downward for this week, although still not optimal snowmaking temps it's better than what we've been seeing.
Today Nov 28 - 42
It's amazing how Accuweather and Waether.com are so drastically different right now. AW shows mid 20's for the lows beginning on Friday. Weather.com has it hovering around 30 for the few days after T-Giving. Either way I'm not too optimistic.
I know you said Vermont, but I wouldn't rule out Lake Placid / Whiteface. There's plenty of what you're looking for there and you can do it on the cheap too. If you're coming form PA, you can get there in about the same time as Killington.
Oh and I love the Blog entry on the home page...
"10.23.09
The Elevator is all cleaned up and ready for the snow! No more sticker bushes to tear up our coats and pants! The JF mountain crew went above and beyond and cleared out a glade on the skier's right of the Elevator! I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to ride on East Mtn this winter..."
The blow over from rivershot covers the Elevator pretty quickly. The glade part of it may need a nice storm. I believe the guns on Floyd's face skiers right towards Risk It so blowing on Floyd's may not help the glade unless there's a atrong wind blowing the other way. Still...very cool to know that not only did they completely clear the old elevator, they cleared out the trees adjacent to it as well...definitely stoked.