Board Briefs: August 18, 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
Information Items
Property Tax Public Hearing
Manor ISD held its property tax hearing as required by the Texas Education Code 44.004 on its proposed property tax rate for the upcoming 2025-26 school year. The Manor ISD School Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt a total 2025 Property Tax Rate of $1.0814, which is the same over the previous year.
Due to the state increasing the Homestead Exemption from $100k to $140k, the local certified value reflects a decrease by -2.38%. The average taxable value of residences is $352,489, which is a decrease of -6%, thus the average tax payer should experience a decrease in their annual taxes by approximately -$240. The loss tax revenues due to the increase in the homestead exemption will be made up by additional state aid.
The 2025 No-New-Revenue-Tax Rate (NNRTR), as calculated by the Travis County Appraisal District, is $1.0624 and the 2025 Voter-Approval Tax Rate (VATR), which is the maximum tax rate that the district can adopt without voter approval, is $1.2438.
The Board approved 2025 M&O Tax Rate is $0.7113 and the I&S Tax Rate is $0.3701, for a total rate of $1.0814.
Monthly Financial Report
June (FY2024-25) Financial Report:
The operating financial report for the month ending June (12/12 or 100% of the budget year), reflects the following:
- The General Fund collected $94,082,034 (96.6% of the budgeted revenue), which is a decrease of -$5,863,391 or -5.9%, year over year.
- The General Fund spent $118,010,258 (98.8% of the budgeted expenditures), which is an increase of $7,562,487 or 7%, year over year.
- The estimated ending General Fund Balance is $5,922,708, which is about $600k more over preliminary estimates.
- The Debt Service Fund collected $48,787,353 (99.6% of the budgeted revenue) and spent $59,895,910 (98.8% of budgeted expenditures). Debt service payments are made during the months of February and August.
- During the month of June, we defeased a total of $26.9MM with a total savings of $13.4MM in long-term interest.
- The estimated ending Debt Service Fund Balance is $48,249,449, which is a decrease of -$11,108,557 over the prior year.
- The Nutrition Program Fund collected $9,011,792 (104.5% of the budgeted revenue) and spent $9,274,4439 (102.8% of budgeted expenditures).
July (FY2025-26) Financial Report:
The operating financial report for the month ending July (1/12 or 8.3% of the budget year), reflects the following:
- The General Fund has collected $1,225,422 (1.2% of the budgeted revenue), which is an increase of $288,823 or 30.8%, year over year.
- The General Fund has spent $8,219,736 (8.1% of the budgeted expenditures), which is an increase of $572,678 or 7.5%, year over year.
- The Debt Service Fund has collected $170,688 (0.4% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $23,114,393 (38.6% of budgeted expenditures). Debt service payments are made during the months of February and August.
- The Nutrition Program Fund has collected $89,752 (0.9% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $391,377 (3.9% of budgeted expenditures).
Quarterly Investment Report
Portfolio Performance:
The 4th QT (April 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025) total interest earnings were $1,325,111 (-9.0%) at an average yield of 3.69% (-0.04 bps) under the previous quarter. When allocating interest earnings by fund: 13% corresponds to the General Fund, 43% to the Debt Service, 15% to the Construction Fund, and 27% to the Maintenance Tax Note.
The Average Ending Balance was $11MM (-16.9%) over the previous quarter. The Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) is zero days since the investment pool provides for immediate liquidity, and it is currently yielding the highest return of 4.42%. Whereas, the current treasury yield is 4.23% (3-mo), 4.11% (6-mo), 3.91 (1-yr), and Municipal Bonds at 2.26%. So, the TClass pool is yielding the highest and safest return for the district (Bloomberg, 2025).
CPM 3 Board Monitoring Report
Trustees were provided an update on Constraint Progress Measure (CPM) 3: Allow any school to be rated as an F (Based on TEA A-F Ratings) for more than one year without making progress on their numeric overall score. The presentation included information about 2024 and 2025 state accountability ratings for the district as well as for each Manor ISD campus. All campuses rated as an F for 2024 made progress as evidenced by an increase in their overall numeric score on state accountability. Information was also shared about requirements and guidelines for MISD campuses with three or more F ratings.
Consent Agenda
Consideration and Approval of Travis County 4-H Agreement
Trustees approved partnering with Travis County 4-H. 4-H is a youth development organization in the United States, empowering young people with skills to succeed through hands-on learning experiences. It's a program focused on Head, Heart, Hands, and Health, with clubs and activities spanning various areas like agriculture, science, and civic engagement.
4-H in Manor ISD is designed to:
- Support school programs that strive to increase awareness and knowledge regarding educational and employment opportunities in the fields of agriculture and agribusiness.
- Participation with the organization also provides industry-based support for teachers and scholars with associated FFA-related activities.
- Collaboratively working with schools to increase awareness and knowledge of agricultural careers and creating opportunities for first-hand experiences for FFA-related activities.
Consideration and Approval of the 2025-2026 Student Code of Conduct
Trustees adopted the 2025-2026 MISD Student Code of Conduct. Governs all behavior at school, at school-sponsored and school-related activities, during online or other remote instruction, during school-related travel, or while traveling in a vehicle owned or operated by the District. The Student Code of Conduct also governs some designated behaviors occurring within 300 feet of school property, some designated behaviors occurring off-campus, including certain electronic communications and postings, and any school-related misconduct, regardless of time or location.
Consideration and Approval of Local Policy EFB
Trustees adopted a new policy in compliance with new legislation regarding the adoption of library materials.
Consideration and Approval of FNCE (Local) Policy Banning Electronic Devices as Required by State Law
Trustees approved a policy aligning with Texas House Bill 1481 that prohibits the use of personal wireless communication devices during the instructional day. This includes cell phones, smartwatches, earbuds, headphones, tablets, pagers, and non-district-issued laptops.
Action Items
Budget Amendment
Trustees reviewed and approved important budget updates in line with state guidelines from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and new law. After review, the Board approved the following budget adjustments:
- Revenues
- General Fund: +$5,197,809
- Child Nutrition Program: $0
- Debt Service Fund: $0
- Net Revenue Change: +$5,197,809
- Expenses
- General Fund: +$4,999,546
- Child Nutrition Program: $0
- Debt Service Fund: $0
Net Expense Change: +$4,999,546
The majority of the funds went into compensation for teachers as required by the school finance bill recently passed by the state legislature. With these approvals, Manor ISD’s budget remains balanced, and the district will continue working to keep it that way.
Consideration and Adoption of 2025 Property Tax Rate
The Manor ISD Board of Trustees has approved the district’s tax rate for the 2025–2026 school year at $1.0814 per $100 of property valuation, the same rate as last year. Importantly, this rate will remain unchanged even if voters approve the upcoming Bond 2025 election in November.
Consideration and Approval of the 2025-2026 SY Updated Compensation Manual
Trustees approved the 2025-2026 compensation plan which includes salary increases for teachers in accordance with changes made during the 89th legislative session through HB 2. The compensation plan also includes a 1% increase at midpoint raise for all other employees not covered by HB 2.