Manor ISD's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to put a $400 million bond package before voters on November 3, 2026, exactly one year after residents rejected a $385 million bond proposal at the ballot box. The new measure splits into two propositions: a $391.5 million Proposition A covering major facility work districtwide, and an $8.5 million Proposition B dedicated to technology upgrades for students and staff.
Proposition A would fund a full rebuild of Bluebonnet Trail Elementary, new buses, an expansion of Manor New Tech High School, and renovations and consolidation of locations at Manor High School, according to KEYE. The same proposition also includes a theater addition and a new facility for the district's 18+ program at Manor High School, renovations at Decker and Blake Manor elementary schools, and districtwide safety and security upgrades. After November 2025's defeat, district leadership revived its Citizens Facility Advisory Committee to take another look at enrollment forecasts, facility condition assessments, and demographic studies before bringing a reworked package back to voters.
A Second Attempt After Last Year's No Vote
The rejected 2025 package would have funded campus safety upgrades, technology, new buses, and fine arts additions, according to KVUE. At the time, district officials estimated Manor ISD faced roughly $100 million in deferred facility maintenance needed over the next six to eight years, with Superintendent Robert Sormani pointing to aging roofs and uneven foundations at older campuses. Manor ISD district buildings include systems dating back to 1960, per KEYE's reporting.
The district hasn't had a voter-approved capital bond since 2019, according to Manor Independent School District. That earlier bond funded projects including Manor Rise Academy and Wildhorse Elementary, though Wildhorse never opened as a traditional elementary school — slower residential growth than expected left the district repurposing the building for Manor Excel Academy and its Child Development Center, with an elementary opening now planned sometime between 2028 and 2030, per the district's bond FAQ page.
Superintendent Warns Delay Could Cost More
Sormani told the school board in February that 4% construction cost inflation compounds over time, warning that continuing to delay repairs at Bluebonnet Trail Elementary could eventually force a full replacement costing around $60 million if building systems fail, as reported by CitizenPortal.ai. Bluebonnet Trail's rebuild is now one of the marquee items under this year's Proposition A. Sormani said in a statement that Bond 2026 is the next step toward safe, functional and future-ready learning environments, and the bond election aligns with the 2027-2032 strategic plan the board approved in June.
Internal district data presented to the board in February showed only about 10% of eligible Manor ISD staff voted in the failed November 2025 election, prompting the superintendent to form an employee focus group early this year to study barriers to staff turnout. Separately, the board approved a balanced operating budget of $105,466,188 for the 2026-2027 school year in June — its second consecutive balanced budget. District leaders emphasize that operating dollars cannot legally fund major capital replacements, which is why the maintenance backlog depends on voters approving bond funds.
Tax Rate Language Versus Projected Bills
Both propositions would raise the tax rate by 3.85 cents, but district officials project the net effect would actually be a $9.56 monthly decrease for the average homeowner compared with the previous year, thanks to state homestead exemption adjustments and debt management, KEYE reports. Manor ISD's average home value is about $331,764. District officials say the average property owner would not see an overall increase in school district taxes if both propositions pass, and that taxes will not increase for senior citizens or disabled residents receiving the over-65 homestead exemption who made no major home improvements.
That messaging runs up against a quirk of state law: Texas Education Code Section 45.003 requires every school district bond ballot proposition to state “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE,” regardless of whether a district's actual tax rate is projected to rise or fall, according to FindLaw. The mandate traces back to House Bill 3, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019. Achieving this year's balanced budget also required trade-offs, including reduced HVAC maintenance at campuses and adjustments to transportation service, as the district absorbed more than $1 million in rising healthcare costs — though the savings also allowed Manor ISD to redirect $1 million toward instruction and smaller elementary class sizes.
Key Dates for Voters
Manor ISD, which enrolled 9,961 students across 16 campuses in Travis County as of the 2024-2025 school year according to the National Center for Education Statistics, will hold its bond election alongside other November 3 contests. The voter registration deadline is October 5, and early voting runs October 19 through 30. CBS Austin reported it plans to speak with Sormani at 2:30 p.m. the day the bond call was announced.
The district's push for capital funding follows a difficult stretch that included a fatal stabbing at Manor High School in 2024 and a subsequent community push to review campus safety measures, as well as a more recent bus driver shortage that disrupted student pickups. Whether voters who rejected the smaller 2025 package will back this larger, restructured version now rests on the November ballot.
