Manhattan Board Approves Federal Grant Plan and Teacher Evaluation Agreement

Manhattan School District 114 Meeting | May 13, 2026

Article Summary: The Manhattan School District 114 Board of Education on Tuesday, May 13, 2026, approved its 2026-2027 Consolidated District Plan to access an estimated $515,000 in federal grant funds and a memorandum of agreement with its teachers’ union restructuring how the teacher evaluation plan is maintained. Both items passed on roll-call votes.

Federal Grants and Evaluation Agreement Key Points:

• The board approved the Consolidated District Plan required by the Illinois State Board of Education to apply for and receive Title I, II, III and IV federal grant funding.
• The district’s combined federal grant allocations for 2026-2027 are estimated at $515,000, based on the prior year’s allotment.
• The board approved a memorandum of agreement with the Manhattan Council, AFT Local 604, replacing Section 11.2 of the collective bargaining agreement with language pointing to a PERA committee-developed evaluation plan.
• Both measures passed on roll-call votes during the action items portion of the meeting.

MANHATTAN — The Manhattan School District 114 Board of Education on Tuesday, May 13, 2026, approved two measures tied to federal funding and teacher evaluations, clearing the way for the district to seek roughly $515,000 in federal grants and restructuring how its teacher evaluation plan is updated.

The board approved the district’s Consolidated District Plan for the 2026-2027 school year, a document required by the Illinois State Board of Education that combines the goals and compliance requirements for several federal programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act. As the director of curriculum and instruction’s report and the board explained, district approval is necessary before the plan can be submitted, and it is a prerequisite to applying for and receiving federal grant funding such as Title I, II, III and IV.

According to the district’s Consolidated District Plan, combined federal grant allocations for 2026-2027 are estimated at $515,000, based on last year’s allotment. The plan detailed the district’s prior-year awards: $45,213 in Title I funds for targeted assistance serving low-income and low-achieving students; $23,945 in Title II for professional development and recruiting; $10,475 in Title IV for student support and academic enrichment across safe and healthy schools, technology and well-rounded students; $424,419 in IDEA flow-through funds for special education; and $11,707 in IDEA Preschool funds. The plan notes that filing the document does not obligate the district to spend the funds but indicates how they would be used based on current needs. Before the vote, the board president asked whether anyone wished to discuss the plan; with no questions raised, the board approved it on a roll-call vote.

The board separately approved a memorandum of agreement between the Board of Education and the Manhattan Council, AFT Local 604, concerning the performance evaluation plan for teachers. District leadership described the agreement as the product of an ongoing process that began in November, in which a joint committee with equal representation of teachers and administration re-evaluated the plan to ensure it aligned with the school code.

Under the agreement, the language in Section 11.2 of the collective bargaining agreement is removed and replaced with language pointing to the Performance Evaluation Plan developed by the Performance Evaluation Reform Act, or PERA, committee. According to the memorandum, that structure gives the committee flexibility to modify the evaluation plan based on a majority vote of its members without requiring the parties to reopen the collective bargaining agreement. The committee will reconvene annually, typically no later than October 31, to review the plan. The agreement specifies that the Performance Evaluation Plan attached as an exhibit will be used for teacher evaluations in the 2026-2027 school year. The board approved the memorandum as presented on a roll-call vote.