Board Briefs: February 23, 2026
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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.
Watch The Board Meeting Meeting Agenda
Student Recognition
Manor New Tech High School Student, Joshua Rhea, Named to All-State Choir
Manor New Tech High School student Joshua Rhea has been named to the Texas All-State Choir, marking a historic achievement for both his campus and Manor ISD.
Joshua is only the second student in Manor ISD history and the second student from Manor New Tech High School to earn All-State Choir honors. The distinction is awarded through a highly competitive audition process that evaluates vocal performance, sight-reading, and musical interpretation, with only the top student musicians across Texas selected.
As an All-State Choir member, Joshua will perform alongside elite student vocalists from across the state at the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Clinic and Convention, representing Manor ISD on one of the state’s most prestigious fine arts stages.
Manor Excel Academy Artist Earns Statewide Recognition at Youth Art Month Exhibition
A Manor Excel Academy student is earning statewide recognition for her artistic talent. Paulina Soto’s artwork, Kinetic, has been selected for the 2025–2026 Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) Youth Art Month Spring Exhibition, a juried showcase highlighting exceptional student work from across Texas.
Paulina’s piece will be displayed at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin throughout March 2026, with an awards ceremony scheduled for March 29. Selection for the exhibition is considered a significant honor, recognizing both artistic skill and creative expression. Manor ISD celebrates Paulina’s achievement as a reflection of the district’s commitment to fostering student creativity and providing opportunities for young artists to share their work on a statewide stage.
Staff Recognition
Decker Nurse and Student Honored for Courage and Care
Decker Elementary School nurse Gabriela “Gabby” Cerda was recognized by the Board of Trustees for her role in helping save the life of fifth grader Emilio Zuniga. In October 2023, Cerda noticed concerning symptoms during repeated visits to the nurse’s office and urged Emilio’s mother to seek medical care, which led to an early cancer diagnosis and timely treatment. After nearly three years of chemotherapy and recovery, Emilio rang the ceremonial bell in January to celebrate being cancer free, surrounded by classmates, staff, and family.
Celebrating Excellence: January and February Staff Recognition at the Board Meeting
Each month, Manor ISD takes a moment to shine a light on the amazing educators and staff members who make a difference on their campuses every day. At the February Board of Trustees meeting, we had the joy of celebrating each school’s Teacher of the Month and Staff Member of the Month for January and February. These honorees were nominated because of the countless ways they build connections, create welcoming classrooms, and support our scholars with heart, patience, and genuine care. Their dedication is felt far beyond the walls of their campuses, and we are grateful for everything they do to help Manor ISD thrive.
Congratulations to our January and February 2026 Honorees:
Blake Manor Elementary School
- January: Jenny Luong — GT Coordinator
- January: Magdalena Fajardo — Custodian
- February:Israela Merto - Special Ed. Teacher
- February: Yoana Moran - Kindergarten Long- Term Sub.
Bluebonnet Trail Elementary School
- January: Joseph Mitchell — 3rd Grade Teacher
- January: Maria Esther Diaz — PreK Instructional Aide
- February: Andres Lomeli — 4th Grade Math Teacher
- February: Yaniah McKinney — Teaching Assistant
Child Development Center
- January: Shakira Ebikam — Daycare Associate
- February: Sa’Myrrah Butler — Daycare Associate
Decker Elementary School
- January: Muna Hasan — Kindergarten Teacher
- January: Nancy Gonzalez — Registrar
- February: Ortensia Mendez — Resource & Inclusion Teacher
- February: Gracie Reyes — ECSE Associate
Lagos Elementary School
- January: Demetria McClain — 3rd Grade Teacher
- January: Luz Quezada Garcia — Registrar
- February: Melisa Esquivel — 1st Grade Bilingual Teacher
- February: Lorena Gandarilla — SLE Teacher Assistant
Oak Meadows Elementary School
- January: Abigail Morales — 1st Grade Teacher
- January: Dennis Rodriguez — Police Officer
- February: Yesenia Villegas — 5th Grade Bilingual Teacher
- February: Tiffany Berry — Instructional Coach
Pioneer Crossing Elementary School
- January: Alvaro Martin Campoy — 4th Grade Teacher
- January: Maria Martinez — Custodian
- February: Graciela Munoz — Kindergarten Teacher
- February: Wendy Boatright — GT K-5
Presidential Meadows Elementary School
- January: Maria Pagan — PreK 4 Teacher
- January: Carmen Gonzales — Head Custodian
- February: Danica Dimaculangan — 5th Grade Teacher
- February: Alondra Espinosa Romero — PreK 4 Bilingual
ShadowGlen Elementary School
- January: Maritza Becerra — 3rd Grade Teacher
- January: Chelsie Herrera — Senior Administrative Associate
- February: Quevette Terrell — PE K-5
- February: Aneth Campos — Educational Assistant
Manor Rise Academy
- January: Chelsie Kanu — 3rd Grade Math Teacher
- January: Lauren Hoffschneider — Special Education Assistant
- February: Claire Hodgin — 7th & 8th Grade Science Teacher
- February: Robert Rios — Custodial Services
Decker Middle School
- January: Rodney Fagins — PE Coach
- January: Sherri Dzienowski — Attendance Associate
- February: Jeffrey Arsenault — Science/Inclusion Teacher
- February: Otilia Estrada — Lead Custodian
Manor Excel Academy
- January: Djeanne Cocjin — Science Teacher
- January: Cassandra Stiggers — Nurse Assistant
- February: Katherine Harris — Secondary ELA
- February: Dione Mayes — Truancy Specialist
Manor New Tech Middle School
- January: Donald Gozzard — Band Director
- January: Neidy Triana Guerrero — Instructional Aide
- February: Trisha Meredith — Special Education Teacher
- February: Daniel Polley — Registered Nurse
Manor High School
- January - Sara Wilson - Teacher
- January - Celeste Gonzalez - Support Staff
- February: Herschel Johnson — SLA
- February: Tara Johnson — SLE Aide
Manor New Tech High School
- January: Wendy Dallaire — English Teacher
- January: Olga Mosqueda — Food Service Department
- February: Joseph Morgenroth — PE/Athletics
- February: Dianira Garcia — Police Officer
Superintendent Update
Student Safety - Dr. Sormani provided an update on ongoing efforts to enhance student safety across Manor ISD. Many safety improvements have been completed, with the exception of weapons detection systems at the middle school level. A next-generation weapons detection system has been installed at Manor Senior High School for testing, and pending results, expansion to middle schools and Manor New Tech High School will be considered.
In addition, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) District Vulnerability Assessment has been completed. Auditors identified 81 corrective items out of several thousand reviewed, with 13 already cleared by TEA. Most remaining improvements are expected to be completed by March 13, 2026. Trustees previously received a detailed briefing in executive session and will continue to receive updates as progress continues
Future Bond Election - District leaders shared reflections on the November 2025 bond election and outlined next steps as Manor ISD considers a possible November 2026 bond. Feedback from voters showed that many community members were unsure about the personal tax impact and wanted clearer information about how funds would be used, even though there was strong agreement on the need to address campus safety and aging facilities.
The district continues to face major unmet needs, including safety improvements, significant deferred maintenance, and the replacement of aging technology devices. Officials noted that these needs remain urgent and will become more costly the longer they are delayed.
Looking ahead, the district will engage the community through focus groups, review projects and costs, explore communications support, and evaluate bond finances before deciding whether to call a November 2026 election later this year.
Information Items
Third Future Schools MOY MMS Progress Report
The Superintendent of Third Future Schools, Zach Craddock shared academic progress information about Manor Middle School. This is year #1 of Manor ISD’s 1882 partnership with Third Future Schools. At mid-year (August–December 2025), Manor Middle School students are demonstrating strong academic growth on NWEA assessments, with most grades and subjects exceeding the national benchmark of one year’s expected growth. Growth is especially notable in 7th and 8th grades, where students are achieving between two and three or more years of growth in ELA, math, and science, with 8th grade ELA and science showing particularly accelerated gains. Science performance is a consistent bright spot across all grade levels, and both male and female students are outperforming national norms in nearly every upper-grade subject. Overall, the data indicates that the Third Future Schools partnership is driving significant academic acceleration, particularly in the upper grades.
2024-2025 TAPR Report Public Hearing
The TAPR report was presented to the board. In summary, the report highlighted areas of academic growth, stagnation, and improvement. The special education designation improved from needs substantial improvement to needs improvement due to student performance in science and a decreased dropout rate for students who receive special education services.
The district maintained its Superior rating for the FIRST; the 2024-2025 school year is when the district had to balance the budget which prompted campuses and departments to review and make adjustments to their budgets and staffing. Last there were two coding errors for discipline incidents; there were three incidents that required reporting rather than five.
CPM #3 Board Monitoring Report - 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 report provided progress monitoring data from Decker Elementary, ShadowGlen Elementary, Bluebonnet Trail Elementary, Decker Middle School, and Manor High School, utilizing academic growth information from STAAR Interim results, IXL BOY to MOY growth, AMIRA reading performance and Bluebonnet Math module assessments. Growth can be seen in some areas but should be interpreted with caution as no assessments listed or currently on the market have a strong correlation with Spring STAAR results. Across campuses, the district has implemented intensive acceleration strategies including leadership adjustments, strategic staffing in tested grades, expanded Papaya tutoring (serving hundreds of students with documented IXL growth), small-group STAAR Domain 2A interventions, instructional coaching, data protocol training, ESF calibration walks, and behavior supports. Early indicators show measurable student growth—especially among students consistently attending tutoring—demonstrating focused efforts to improve achievement outcomes and ensure campuses make measurable progress toward exiting “F” status.
CPM #2.1 Progress Monitoring Report - Attendance
Campuses are still working to increase ADA to their various campus goals. At this time we are at 92.3% ADA for the district.
Bond 2019 - Updates
No updates to report. It was noted that an agenda item to purchase student and staff technology devices was included in the February board meeting. The purchase of devices would be funded through 2019 Bond interest funds.
Monthly Financial Reports (December and January)
The operating financial report for the month ending December (6/12 or 50.0% of the budget year), reflects the following:
- The General Fund has collected $55,030,294 (52.5% of the budgeted revenue), which is an increase of $16,084,390 or 41.3%, year over year.
- The General Fund has spent $49,649,832 (47.4% of the budgeted expenditures), which is a decrease of -$5,871,636 or -10.6%, year over year.
- The Debt Service Fund has collected $19,656,370 (41.5% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $23,116,443 (38.6% of budgeted expenditures). Debt service payments are made during the months of February and August.
- The Nutrition Program Fund has collected $3,573,441 (34.5% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $3,931,372 (38.1% of budgeted expenditures).
The operating financial report for the month ending January (7/12 or 58.0% of the budget year), reflects the following:
- The General Fund has collected $93,644,602 (89.4% of the budgeted revenue), which is an increase of $12,161,336 or 14.9%, year over year.
- The General Fund has spent $58,592,365 (55.9% of the budgeted expenditures), which is a decrease of -$5,956,099 or -9.2%, year over year.
- The Debt Service Fund has collected $39,495,500 (83.4% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $37,799,636 (53.1% of budgeted expenditures). Debt service payments are made during the months of February and August.
- The Nutrition Program Fund has collected $4,312,433 (41.6% of the budgeted revenue) and has spent $4,716,321 (45.7% of budgeted expenditures).
2nd Quarter Investment Report
Portfolio Performance:
The 2 QT total interest earnings were $659,622 (-22.0%) at an average yield of 3.30% (-0.35 bps) under the previous quarter. When allocating interest earnings by fund: 22.8% corresponds to the General Fund, 38.8% to the Debt Service, 15.1% to the Construction Fund, and 23.3% to the Maintenance Tax Note.
The Average Ending Balance was $7.5MM, which is $123k (1.7%) over the previous quarter. The Weighted Average Maturity (WAM) is zero days since the TClass Investment Pool provides for immediate liquidity and is currently yielding the highest return of 4.12% (-0.2653%).
The current treasury yield is 3.64% (3-mo), 3.61% (6-mo), 3.51% (1-yr), and Municipal Bonds at 2.30%. Thus, the TClass pool is yielding the highest and safest return (Bloomberg, 2026).
Consent Agenda
Consideration and Approval — Supplemental Pay Structure Schedule FY 2025-2026
The district does not currently have on its adopted compensation plan a supplemental schedule that lists all other hourly rates that the district currently pays for extra duty, summer school, athletic event ticket takers or gate coordinators, etc. Adopting a Supplemental Pay Structure Schedule will facilitate the processing of extra duty pay, improve consistency, and control the amount currently being spent on extra duty annually. The district spent about $900k on extra duty pay during 2024-25.
Consideration and Approval of the Board Annual Self-Evaluation
Trustees use the Lonestar Governance Integrity instrument to measure their performance for 2025. We are proud to say we scored a 94 out of 100! We have come a long way, and it shows in the improvement of district performance academically and financially.
Consideration and possible action regarding the purchase of Apple iPad and MacBook Air instructional devices, including possible delegation of authority to the Superintendent or his designee to finalize the purchase
Due to the 2025 bond not passing, this item proposes purchasing student and staff devices using 2019 bond interest funds. The purchase from Apple Inc. will include iPads with keyboard cases, MacBook Airs, accessories, deployment services, and four-year AppleCare+ coverage. The total cost will not exceed $3,200,000, funded over four years with 0% financing.
Consideration and Approval to Increase Authorization Over the $250K threshold for Austin Air Systems and $400K for Firetrol Protection Systems
Due to the failure of the 2025 bond, Administration requests an increase in spending limits to address anticipated and unanticipated facility needs using existing funds. This adjustment raises the authorization for Austin Air Systems to an amount not to exceed $750,000 and for Firetrol Protection Systems to an amount not to exceed $700,000 for the 2025–26 school year, ensuring the District can continue necessary maintenance and system support.
Action Items
Consideration and Approval of Policy GKD (Local): Facilities Usage
Trustees updated the policy on facilities usage as per the last legislative session and the advice of legal counsel. There were several changes to regulations that will be implemented in July.
Consideration and Disapproval of a Resolution Establishing a School Period of Prayer in Accordance with SB 11
The last legislative session requires a vote on the establishment of a period of prayer at every campus. Trustees voted to not implement the school prayer period.
Consideration and Approval of the Superintendent's Evaluation
Annually, the board of trustees must evaluate the superintendent and approve that evaluation in open session.