MANHATTAN — A Manhattan business owner has become the first to file her candidacy for the USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden school board.
Kristin Brighton announced her candidacy for an at-large position on the board Wednesday. Brighton is co-owner of New Boston Creative Group, LLC and previously served as chair of the board for the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce in 2016. She also has served on the chamber’s board of directors. She’s also served or chaired numerous chamber task forces and committees and is a 2009 Leadership Manhattan graduate.
Brighton says her campaign is concerned with keeping experienced teachers in the classrooms and recruiting new teachers into the profession. She cites a fall 2018 report from the Kansas Department of Education that noted more than 600 unfilled teaching jobs in the state. She says she’s also hoping to spark community discussions on the need to evaluate current middle and high school course offerings for relevancy in the modern world, both to achieve a healthy balance of technology use in students’ lives and better meet the mental health needs of students and staff.
Four at-large positions are up for grabs on the school board. Those seats are currently held by Board President Curt Herrman, David Colburn, Darell Edie and Leah Fliter. The filing deadline is June 3.
