Kristin Brighton, Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Board of Education

09/04/2026

Thank you to The Mercury for issuing a correction to its story. I'd like to point out that USD 383 actually spent $2.5 million less in 2025-26 than we did in 2024-25, despite high inflation. Going through reports to write my earlier post helped me to realize this, because it actually hadn't been pointed out before. Our administrators are preparing for tougher times with dropping enrollments by not replacing every open position.

A story in Thursday’s edition on the USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden budget compared last year’s actual expenditures to the 2026-27 year’s budgeted expenditures. It should have compared last year’s budgeted expenditures

09/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1VKKrziY9b/?mibextid=wwXIfr

FACT CHECK FRIDAY: Where does school funding go?

A common misconception is that the majority of school funding goes toward administrative costs. In reality, instruction and teacher salaries account for 59.2% of state school operating expenditures.

From transportation and food service to student support and facility maintenance, school funding supports the many people and services it takes to help students succeed.

09/03/2026

We approved the budget for FY 2026-27 last night. KMAN's heading is greatly misleading, mainly because their staff doesn't quite understand school budgeting and funding. Let me try to explain.

What we pass in September is our budget AUTHORITY. It's the max we can spend. We're always conservative with this number. Most years we come in way under, but we aren't allowed to go over this amount without going through a formal process. In 2025-26, our budget authority was $146,469,930, but our actual spend was about 15% less, at $125,429,500.

In 2023-24, our actual spend was $124,713,555.
In 2024-25, our actual spend was $127,960,768.
In 2025-26, our actual spend was $125,429,500.

That's pretty flat, given how big of an institution USD 383 is.

This year, we employ fewer teachers and other staff because we have fewer students. That is a trend that we anticipate to continue, so our state funding will be going down.

We shifted employee health insurance providers to keep our premiums as low as possible. It was still a large increase after making that change.

We've worked hard to watch our spending. The mill levy is lower than it has been since 2019.

We're also facing a big unknown, as the state is redoing the school finance formula.

Teachers got a pittance in raises, only $200 increase for the year on the base salary. No one wanted this, but we knew we couldn't risk a bigger leap with the school funding formula up this year and everything costing more.

We keep a month's salary and expenses in reserves just in case the state or feds miss a payment. This has happened before. We don't want to risk not being able to pay our employees (nearly $7 million per month) or our bills.

There's more to the USD 383 budget passed Sept. 2 than this headline indicates. Please know everyone is working hard to keep spending increases to a minimum, despite inflation driving everything up. Thank you for understanding that budgets aren’t created overnight, and that the board wants to do what’s right for Manhattan taxpayers, staff AND students.

Homeowners will see an average increase of almost 8% in USD 383 property taxes next year. The Manhattan-Ogden school board approved a plan Wednesday that includes a budget increase of 21%, from $125.4 million in 2025-26 to $152.1 million in 2026-27. That’s an increase of $26.7 million. During the ...

08/22/2026

The beginning of the school year is always hard. Every building is full of people adjusting to working together, to new roles and rules, grade levels, and bus routes. Throw in some big schedule changes, new faces, new wake-up times, and a new state law that takes away student cell phone privileges, and it’s totally expected people will be stressed, tired and even grumpy two weeks in. It takes a while every year to find our groove. But we always do.

I just want our USD 383 staff to know I appreciate everything you’ve done to get us through the lift of the first few weeks of school. Our entire community is in your debt. I hope you can take some time to recover this weekend and enjoy your families.

There has been an abnormal amount of negative school-related chatter online these past few weeks. I want to respond by sharing positive news about the awesome stuff happening in our district— most of it I don’t hear about. Lots of amazing things happen in our buildings every day that never get shared.

A few things I’d like to celebrate this morning:

1) Three of our elementary schools — Bluemont, Woodrow Wilson and Ogden — we recently honored for their students’ academic achievements. I’ve included screenshots below so you can learn more about this honor.

2) Oliver Brown hosted a bike safety event this morning with Eric Coleman of the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Department and volunteers from RCPD and Blue Township Fire Department. Over pancakes, kids got to learn about bike safety, received free helmets and got their bikes inspected by officers. Unfortunately the rain prevented the rodeo portion of the event, but it was an awesome display of school-community partnership. Glad I could make it.

3) For the first time in 18 years, we aren’t depending on full-time maintenance staff to drive school buses. This will go a long way to keeping our buildings operating well, and helping us attract and retain these valuable district employees who take care of the properties our taxpayers have invested in.

4) Boys and Girls Club is off to a good start. Staff shared with me when I was at their office this week that they expect to accept most families on their waiting lists this week as K-State students get back to town and can fill their open positions. We’re very thankful for this community partnership.

5) There’s a new FB group started in the state to celebrate public education. Follow Schools in Kansas to read heartwarming stories in our schools every day. Hope to see some soon about the great stuff happening everyday at The USD 383.

Know something good that’s happened so far this school year that you’d like to share? Feel free to add in the comments. I’ll delete any negative comments. Make ‘em elsewhere or send me an email. Thanks!

08/06/2026

We got to show off MHS yesterday and talk about one of my favorite topics…workforce development and young people!

08/05/2026

USD 383 welcomed the teachers back this morning with our annual convocation ceremony. We celebrated last year’s award winners and Michele, Jayme and Eric inspired the team to act with intention and have a great year. Our KNEA Chapter President Ted Dawdy also did a great job sharing a personal story about believing in people’s best intentions. As a bonus, we all had the pleasure of meeting the new commissioner of education, Jake Steele. It was a nice pep rally to start the year.

I hope all of our district educators and staff have a great couple of days as they prepare for students next week! As always, thank you for all you give of yourself every day for our students.

07/29/2026

One of the best days of the year is when we welcome new teachers to The USD383! We have about 85 joining us this year. Always a fun kickoff.

06/14/2026

Know someone searching for after-school care for this fall? Check out this awesome new program through UFM!

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UFM Community Learning Center is launching the new ABLE (After-school Building Leadership and Enrichment) Program for K–5 students during the 2026–2027 school year. Enrollment begins with the purchase of an annual membership, which secures your child’s spot. Students may attend daily from 2:30–5:30 PM Monday through Friday, where they will engage in hands-on STEAM enrichment activities, leadership development, recreation, and even homework support. The program offers a fun, safe environment with mentorship from UFM teen mentors and K-State college students. Transportation will be provided from local schools. After enrollment, families are invoiced $225 per month for services from August 2026 through May 2027. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. Please register at bit.ly/42JD2TA. For any questions, please email [email protected].

Please note when registering: For transportation planning, please provide the grade your child will be entering for the 2026–2027 school year and the elementary school they will attend. You may enter this information in the Special Needs/Comments section during registration or email it to [email protected].

This registration reserves your child's spot in the ABLE Program for the 2026–2027 school year. Additional program information, forms, and required paperwork will be provided to enrolled families later this summer.

UFM Community Learning Center is a creative educational program serving Kansas State University, the Manhattan area and the state of Kansas. Based on the philosophy that everyone can learn and everyone can teach, UFM provides opportunities for lifelong learning and personal development. UFM serves a...

04/28/2026

Just got back from a terrific tour of Fort Riley, where I attended a signing ceremony for an intergovernmental support agreement (IGSA) between the installation and USD 383. This deal is a huge win for both entities. It allows Ft. Riley to complete needed construction contracts at roughly 30% less cost to taxpayers and about 18 months faster, and it will provide a new revenue stream for the district that could help us greatly with teacher pay and benefits, as well as reduce taxes. It’s a win-win. Ben Van Becelaere and his team were wonderful hosts. We even got to try out some training simulators. Looking forward to seeing the outcomes of this deal benefit the district for years to come.