Kisd board weighs a 3-year handoff of Manor Middle School to a charter network—what changes, and what stays district-run

The Killeen ISD Board of Trustees is scheduled to consider and approve a three-year contract that would place Manor Middle School under the operation of Third Future Schools, a Colorado-based charter network. If approved at Tuesday evening’s workshop meeting, kisd would shift control of staffing, curriculum, and budget to the charter operator at the end of the current school year, while the district continues managing the facility. The proposal is framed as an intervention strategy tied to Texas’ Senate Bill 1882 Partnership model and its incentives.

What the contract would do—and what KISD would still control

The action before trustees centers on a three-year agreement with Third Future Schools to operate Manor Middle School. The operational transfer is specific: Third Future Schools would assume control of Manor’s staffing, curriculum, and budget at the end of the current school year, pending approval during Tuesday evening’s workshop meeting.

At the same time, the arrangement does not fully remove the district from day-to-day stewardship of the campus footprint. The district would continue to manage the facility even as a charter operator oversees core educational and financial decisions connected to staffing and programming. In practical terms, the contract draws a dividing line between educational operations and facility management—an important distinction in how responsibility is allocated under the partnership.

Trustees previously approved Third Future Schools as a partner during a Feb. 17 meeting, after which the two entities began contract negotiations. Approval of the contract would finalize the partnership framework now being considered.

Why this is happening now: the Senate Bill 1882 Partnership incentives

The decision to partner with Third Future Schools is presented as part of an effort to improve Manor Middle School through an intervention model known as a Senate Bill 1882 Partnership. The Texas Education Agency describes Senate Bill 1882—signed into law in 2017—as providing incentives for districts to partner with open-enrollment charter schools, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or government agencies.

During the Feb. 17 meeting, kisd administrator Terri Osborne outlined two reasons the district is pursuing these benefits. First, there is a financial incentive tied to an added value per student allotment, described as ranging from $1, 000 to $1, 300. Second, Osborne said the model could provide a two-year accountability pause, which she characterized as particularly important for Manor Middle School’s scenario.

The accountability pause is central to the timing and urgency. The district’s stated view is that it could help save the district from state takeover connected to poor performance by Manor and other middle schools within the district. While the contract is structured as an operational partnership, the broader context is a high-stakes effort to stabilize accountability outcomes under state law.

Accountability pressure and state intervention risk

The accountability backdrop has been set out in formal communication and in state statute. In September of 2025, Texas Education Agency Deputy Commissioner of Education Steve Lecholop notified the district that Palo Alto Middle School and Manor had earned unacceptable ratings for three consecutive years, while Eastern Hills Middle School had earned two.

State law establishes escalation points that turn performance ratings into governance consequences. Under state law, the commissioner would be required to intervene if Manor received unacceptable ratings for two additional years. Separately, the Texas Education Code states that if a campus receives an unacceptable performance rating for five consecutive school years, the Texas commissioner of education shall order either the appointment of a board of managers to govern the school district or the campus’s closure.

The code further states that if a board of managers is appointed, the powers of the board of trustees will be suspended for the period of the appointment, and the commissioner shall appoint a superintendent. This statutory structure clarifies what is at stake for district governance as well as for campus continuity. In that light, the proposed partnership is not only about programmatic change; it is also an attempt to navigate accountability timelines and the legal triggers tied to consecutive unacceptable ratings.

Trustees have already taken major steps tied to that accountability environment. They ultimately decided to close Eastern Hills and Palo Alto at the end of the school year, while opting to pursue the partnership plan at Manor. The different pathways—closure for two campuses and a partnership intervention for another—show a targeted approach rather than a single districtwide remedy.

For kisd, the contract vote is therefore both an operational decision and a governance-relevant one, because the accountability pause described by Osborne is positioned as a buffer within a timeline shaped by state law.

How the partner was selected

The process that produced Third Future Schools as the proposed operator was also described in district actions. The district opened an application on Dec. 2, 2025, allowing interested charter schools to apply to partner with the district. Third Future Schools was ultimately the only organization to apply, and the district closed the application on Jan. 9.

Trustees approved Third Future Schools as a partner during a Feb. 17 meeting, which initiated contract negotiations leading to the three-year agreement now on the agenda. If trustees approve the contract at Tuesday evening’s workshop meeting, Third Future Schools would take control of staffing, curriculum, and budget at the end of the current school year, while the district continues managing the facility.

The district’s stated rationale for this path is tied to the Senate Bill 1882 Partnership incentives: the per-student financial added value and the two-year accountability pause. Whether the partnership produces the improvement the district seeks will depend on implementation within the authorities the contract would shift—particularly staffing and curriculum—while leaving facility management with the district.