The MISD School Board on Oct. 5 approved updates to the district’s bank-signature authorization, introduced the district’s new chief financial officer and authorized that CFO to work with the county to calculate the 2025–26 school tax rate.

The actions came after Superintendent Dr. Noyola introduced Christina Torres and recommended the banking and tax-rate authorizations. “Administration recommends approval,” Dr. Noyola said as he presented the items to the board.

Why it matters: changing bank signatures formalizes who may sign checks and manage accounts for the district; authorizing the CFO to provide required paperwork to the county starts the formal tax-rate calculation that the county will use to generate the district’s rate.

Board action and discussion: Dr. Noyola told trustees that Christina Torres had started on Monday and that administration recommended giving her signature authority for district accounts. A motion to approve the new bank signatures was moved and seconded; the board voted to approve the motion. The board later approved a motion authorizing the CFO to work with the county to calculate the 2025–26 tax rate; administration again recommended approval.

During the meeting Dr. Noyola also reported a county letter projecting an estimated debt-collection rate of 100% for the coming year. “They did send out that letter noting that they are estimating a collection rate of 100%,” Dr. Noyola said, adding that the district typically budgets a lower collection rate and that the district will “work with them” and hoped the projection holds. The board treated the county projection as a notification and voted to accept the item as presented.

Decisions vs. direction: The board formally approved the bank-signature changes and the CFO’s authorization to coordinate the tax-rate calculation with county officials. The 100% debt-collection figure was presented to the board as the county’s projection; no additional binding action on the projection was taken at the meeting.

Next steps: Christina Torres will begin the paperwork process with the county to support the tax-rate calculation, and administration said it will continue to monitor final collection numbers from the county.