By Emma Loura

The school board spent 40 minutes Wednesday on the subject of board member Katie Allen.

Allen drew criticism recently after commenting “well deserved” in response to a post about the death of political influencer Charlie Kirk. During the previous school board meeting, she said she would step down as board vice president but wouldn’t leave the board.

Allen is also has filed a federal lawsuit against her former employer, the Kansas Department of Education, which she says forced her to resign, for violating her First Amendment rights.

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By Emma Loura and Megan Moser

The USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden school board voted to ask member Katie Allen’s to resign Wednesday night following a social media post she made about the death of conservative political influencer Charlie Kirk.

Allen said she would not resign but would step down as board vice president.

The other six board members admonished Allen for her actions and passed a resolution requesting that she submit her resignation, which passed 5-1. Board member Jayme Morris-Hardeman voted no.

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By Emma Loura

To fill the district’s need for occupational therapists, USD 383 is contracting with the company Sunbelt Staffing LLC. At Wednesday night’s meeting, the school board gave final approval to a contract for occupational therapy services to fill the IEP needs for the 2025-2026 school year.

“As a reminder, the reason we’re having to do this contract is that we were unable to recruit an O.T. to work for the district for this year,” school board president Kristin Brighton said. “I’m assuming those efforts to find someone are still ongoing and will continue.”

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By Emma Loura

Manhattan-Ogden focused its hiring efforts on recruiting more bus drivers and para-educators for the upcoming school year. While the need for paras varies year to year based on how many students need their assistance, USD 383’s human resources director said the school district is hopeful about recruiting additional bus drivers.

“Those are the two we focused heavily on throughout the year,” HR director Abby Bowen said.

Bowen said the district had big interview days for each position and advertised the need for paras and bus drivers with signs. This advertising included a large sign on a school bus parked next to the Lincoln Education Center.

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