Board Briefs: April, 21, 2025
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Manor ISD’s Board Briefs
Welcome to the latest edition of Manor ISD’s Board Brief! Each month, we will offer a snapshot of key decisions, discussions, and highlights from our most recent board meeting. As always, Manor ISD is committed to transparency and keeping our community informed about the work being done to support our students, staff, and schools. In this update, you'll find information about important approvals, recognitions, and updates on initiatives aimed at enhancing the educational experience across our district.
Meeting recording Meeting Agenda/Boardbook
Scholar Recognitions
✨Manor Senior High School Cosmetology Students Show Off Their Style, Win Prestigious State Award
Ten Manor Senior High School cosmetology students proved they've got serious talent—and a whole lot of style—after qualifying for the State SkillsUSA competition! These future beauty industry pros wowed the judges at the regional contest with their precision, creativity, and flair for all things hair.
The standout students who earned their spot at state were:
- Madison Brown
- Yadira Jaimes Mondragon
- Yuritza Dominguez
- Yareli Villegas
- Lwidja Salomon
- Jocelyn Gonzalez
- Christian Rogers
- Cathia Rangel
- Camila Urrabazo
- Felicia Horton
From intricate braids to flawless fades, these students showed they’re not just learning the craft—they’re mastering it. Judges were blown away by their technique, professionalism, and eye for detail.
In April, they competed at the State SkillsUSA contest, where they had the opportunity to showcase their skills on a bigger stage, network with industry professionals, and represent Manor ISD with pride. Their hard work and talent paid off—they were awarded the prestigious State Superior Award, a recognition given to students who demonstrate the highest level of excellence in their field.
🖌️Manor New Tech High School Artists Brush Their Way to the State VASE Contest!
Creativity, talent, and a whole lot of heart—three Manor New Tech High School students brought it all to the canvas to qualify for the State Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) contest!
Congratulations to these incredible artists who wowed judges at the regional level and earned their place at state:
- Livier Castillo-Lopez
- Emily Nguyen
- Urduja Raygon
VASE is no ordinary art contest. It’s the largest in Texas and challenges students to go beyond the brush—asking them to not only create stunning works of art, but also to speak about their inspiration, technique, and creative process.
🎭Spotlight on Urduja Raygon: Advancing to the UIL State Theatrical Set Design Competition
Manor New Tech High School's own Urduja Raygon has achieved a remarkable feat by being selected as one of only eight 4A students statewide to advance to the UIL State Theatrical Set Design Competition. This prestigious event is scheduled to take place on May 16-17, 2025, at the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center in Austin, Texas. University Interscholastic League
🤖Manor Early College High School Robotics Teams Advance to State Competition!
Manor Early College High School is charging ahead—literally and figuratively—as 37 of its brilliant students qualified for the State Robotics Competition! These students spent months building, coding, and perfecting their bots, and now all that hard work is paying off as they represent MECHS at the state level.
From freshmen just getting started to seniors leading the way, this powerhouse team showed off their engineering skills, teamwork, and problem-solving prowess at regionals—earning them a well-deserved spot at state.
Here are the MECHS students selected for the state robotics competition this year:
Seniors (12th Grade):
Ananvita Padmanabhan
Ava Turman
Jedric Labata
Joy Austin
Kyle Burgland
Reymundo Cardenas
Juniors (11th Grade):
Ahmed Abid
Alberto Garcia
Aubree Carrillo
Diego Olivia
Iman Hussein
Isabella Fisher
Jame Huynh
Johnny Perez Salas
Karla Salas
Maximo Rivera
Melanie Madrid
Pernell Smith
Ranvir Singh
TJ Wade
Sophomores (10th Grade):
Andres Valencia
Aspen Patton
Courtney Bell
Daniel Kemp
Farina Chandio
Hammad Ghanchi
Jamel McKinney
Jessica Nwigbo
Juan Salas
Richard Smith
Seth Stirman
Spencer Rivera
Xavier Lara
Freshmen (9th Grade):
Aiden Carver
Alexander Villalobos
Forrest Lu
Michael Giron
🧪Science Stars: MNTHS Students Qualify For State Science Fair!
Big congratulations are in order for Roshaine Bonane and Antonette Masloc, two outstanding students from Manor New Tech High School, who qualified for the State Science and Engineering Fair of Texas! Their innovative chemistry project turned heads at the regional level and is now making its way to the state stage.
Their project, titled “Slay and Shield,” tackled a fascinating and relevant topic in the Chemistry category. The duo explored: "How does the quality of different foundation products affect the overall protection against UV radiation?"
With a mix of scientific curiosity and real-world application, Roshaine and Antonette dove into the chemistry behind cosmetic products, testing how well different foundations can protect the skin from harmful UV rays.
Staff Recognitions
🌟We’re proud to celebrate the incredible staff members who go above and beyond to make a difference at Manor ISD. Here’s a look at who was recognized during this month’s board meeting!
Closed Session Action Items
Kandice Smith Named New Principal of Manor High School
Manor ISD has named Kandice Smith as the new principal of Manor High School. A seasoned educator and administrator, Smith brings more than 10 years of experience in public education, including 9 years as a classroom educator and more than 4 years in school leadership.
Smith’s appointment is part of Manor ISD’s ongoing efforts to improve alignment and support across Manor High School, which includes Manor Senior High School (MSHS) and Manor Early College High School (MECHS), by transitioning into a single-principal model. The change is designed to enhance coordination, reduce scheduling conflicts, and establish consistent expectations for school discipline and campus safety.
Superintendent Update
Safety Update
We continue to negotiate a contract for the installation of a weapon’s detection system. We hope to have at least Manor High School (MHS), Manor Senior High School (MSHS) and Manor Early College High School (MECHS) done before the school year is out.
The Center for Safe Schools provided their Campus Behavioral Health Assessment for MSHS. The campus scored a 74 on a 100 pt scale which means the school “demonstrates a behavioral health and school climate that is well structured and has significant compliance by all parties.” They gave us 15 more recommendations for improvement. We have already completed one by reducing the amount of students being bused by shuttle between the campuses. We accomplished this by moving all 10-12th graders to the MSHS complex and all 9th graders to the MHS 9th Grade Campus.
Points of Pride
- 10,086 students are enrolled in the district. By comparison, we began last school year with 9,385 which is a 700 student increase (a little less than the size of Manor New Tech Middle School)/
- Registered 113 PK students for 25-26 school year already! We currently have 676 PK students which is an increase of 281 PK students year over year.
- So far this year, we have had 3 different teams qualify for state competition and 38 individual students in fine arts, academics, and athletics qualify for state level competition
Information Items
April Financial Report
The operating financial report for the month ending March 31st (9/12 or 75.0% of the budget year), reflects the following:
- The General Fund has collected $89,801,186 (88.5% of the budgeted revenue), which is an increase of $4,101,916 or 5% year over year.
- The General Fund has spent $86,896,993 (73.9% of the budgeted expenditures), which is an increase of $10,211,528 or 13% year over year.
- The Debt Service Fund has collected $47,803,090 (106% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $32,874,388 (54.2% of budgeted expenditures). Debt service payments are made during the months of February and August.
- The Nutrition Program Fund has collected $6,108,962 (62.9% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $6,409,907 (57.1% of budgeted expenditures).
3rd Quarterly Investment Report
The 3 QT total interest earnings were $1,456,728 (increase of 68.5% over the previous quarter) at an average yield of 3.7341%, which was -0.46 bps under the previous quarter. When allocating interest earnings by fund: 30% corresponds to the General Fund, 55% to the Debt Service, and 15% to the Construction Fund.
The Average Ending Balance was $13,232,011 (9.4%) over the previous quarter. The Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) is zero days since the investment pool provides for immediate liquidity and is currently yielding the highest return of 4.5%. The portfolio asset allocation by investment type is 89% in the Texas Class Investment Pool and 11% in the local depository bank
Action Items
Consideration and Approval of RFP - Health Insurance and Cafeteria Plan Options for 2025-2026
The Board unanimously approved the medical insurance plan for the upcoming school year through BlueCrossBlueShield. Although the proposed health insurance plan will increase copays by $20, the estimated savings to the employees is about $183k, at the new premium rates, which reflect an increase of 12.4%. Had the district not procured these services, employees would have experienced an increase in premium rates of up to 25%. Furthermore, the Employer Contribution will be increased from $471.52 to $508.30 in order to keep individual cost to employees at zero under the high deductible plan.
Dental and Vision insurances will be provided through MetLife with enhanced benefits and higher maximums. These new rates are locked up to 3 years for dental and 4 years for vision. The Basic Life Insurance benefit that is provided at no cost to the employees will be increased from $10,000 to $20,000 and its rate is guaranteed for up to 3 years. The district will continue to offer other insurance options to employees for supplemental life, accident, disability, critical illness, hospital, identity theft, and legal at an additional cost to the employee.
Consideration and Approval of an Agreement with Texas Educator Housing Affordability Fund
Manor ISD Administration presented a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Texas Educator Housing Affordability Fund. The partnership aims to provide affordable housing options for Manor ISD educators. The MOU was unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees.
A timeline for implementation will be released once housing has been identified. In the meantime, employees can expect to receive a survey in May.