Trustees Approve 1% Raises For Employees, Explore Calling A VATRE To Further Increase Salaries
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The Manor ISD Board of Trustees approved 1% salary increases for all staff during their Regular Meeting on May 21. Additionally, the Trustees explored calling for a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (TRE) for November 5, which, if approved by voters, would allow Manor ISD to increase staff salaries by another 2%, bringing the total to a 3% increase of the midpoint for the 2024-2025 school year.
"Our teachers deserve competitive compensation for the outstanding work that occurs daily in our classrooms and district facilities," Superintendent Dr. Robert Sormani said. "I am appreciative that our Board recognizes the dedication of staff throughout our district by approving a guaranteed increase and continues to explore options on how we can provide further salary increases for 2024-2025."
A VATRE allows voters to approve or disapprove the tax rate adopted by the Board of Trustees. If passed, it will allow Manor ISD to access the maximum amount of golden pennies, tax revenue not subject to recapture. If approved, the VATRE would inject approximately $4.8 million annually into the district's operating budget to help offset the loss of federal funding and rising operations costs due to inflation while:
- Increasing staff salaries by a total of 3% of the midpoint,
- Increasing campus safety and security by funding salaries for new school police officers and equipment, and
- Increasing mental health support by funding salaries for new social workers and student programs.
The total cost for the 3% raises for staff, and the additional support for safety and mental health staffing and support is an estimated $5 million.
If the VATRE is called for and approved, the additional pay increase will take effect in the fall and include retroactive compensation for previous months.
If the VATRE is called for and approved, the projected tax rate for Manor ISD would be $1.0814 per taxable $100 for the 2024-2025 school year, which is lower than the district's $1.0861 tax rate for 2023-2024. The district would be able to achieve this tax rate due to the state lowering the maximum compressed tax rate during its 88th legislature session last year.
Typically, property taxes for citizens 65 years or older—or those who are disabled—are not affected by a rate increase. As Manor ISD's tax rate would decrease if the VATRE is approved, their tax rate would also go down if the appropriate homestead exemptions are filed with the County Appraisal District.
Trustees will continue to explore the possibility of calling for a VATRE and potentially take action at an upcoming meeting. If called for, the Election would occur on November 4, 2024.