Manor ISD presents conservative 2025–26 budget proposal; board approves early loan payoff resolution

Manor Independent School District trustees on March 3 reviewed a conservative preliminary budget proposal for fiscal year 2025–26 that would reduce the district’s operating budget by roughly $17 million, and unanimously approved a board resolution to pay off a short-term loan.

The presentation, led by district finance staff identified in the meeting as “Mister Santiago” with assistance from the superintendent’s office, outlined revenue assumptions tied to local property taxes, state funding from the Texas Education Agency’s Foundation School Program and federal grants, and proposed cuts across functions to produce a balanced operating budget for 2025–26.

The presenters said about 90% of the district’s operating revenue is generated from local property taxes and roughly 10–11% from state funding. Federal grants (Title I, IDEA and other entitlements) totalled described in the presentation as roughly $4.5 million; the presenters characterized federal funds as supplemental rather than a base operating revenue source. The district used conservative assumptions for interest earnings and projected average daily attendance (ADA). The budget assumes an ADA of 9,222 (current ADA cited as 8,872) and a current attendance rate of about 92.7 percent.

Why it matters: the district faces tax “compression” when local property values grow faster than the state’s compression thresholds, which reduces the district’s ability to collect tax revenue and can trigger recapture. Presenters noted Manor ISD is close to the recapture threshold and that last year the district paid more than $10 million in recapture. The presentation said the district must preserve attendance levels and ADA to avoid additional funding losses because Texas funds districts based on refined ADA rather than enrollment.

Key budget numbers and program changes

- Total operating reductions: about $17 million (presenters said this equals roughly 15% of the current operating budget). - Personnel: a 10.3% reduction in personnel costs is included in the proposal; managers said reductions would be achieved primarily through attrition and reassignment rather than immediate mass layoffs and that certified teachers would be placed in positions districtwide as vacancies occur. - Contracted services: proposed reduction of about $5.1 million. - General supplies: proposed reduction of about $633,000. - Travel and misc.: proposed reduction of about $313,000. - Capital outlay: proposed reduction of about $666,000. - The presentation singled out a proposed consolidation of Manor High School leadership into a single principal (from multiple principals across campuses), an action the presenters estimated could save up to about $632,000 (they characterized that as “up to” and said full savings may be lower because of duplicated physical locations). - Transportation changes: move freshmen to a dedicated ninth-grade center and reduce shuttle runs and bus stops (adopt industry-standard stop radii: quarter-mile for elementary, half-mile for secondary) and shift the high school start time earlier by 30 minutes (from 9:15 to 8:45) — the presentation estimated combined annual savings of about $379,000 from these transportation changes. - Staffing ratios: presenters said campus staffing ratios were adjusted and that the budget reduces instructional spending proportionally more than other functions. - Employee benefits and compensation: the district intends to continue covering individual employee health insurance at no cost to employees; there is no general across-the-board pay increase in the proposal, though some equity adjustments for specific positions (for example, principals) are included. Teacher stipends for taking on large class loads were preserved at a range cited in the presentation ($10,000–$12,000 depending on load).

Cash flow, borrowing and debt…