What to watch: The Midland College Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday, June 23, to take its first formal step toward building a new Applied Technology Complex after last year’s failed bond election, review a preliminary 2026-27 budget that grows about 7%, consider renewing President Damon Kennedy’s contract, and vote on several campus improvement projects.

Key points:

  • Applied Technology Complex: Trustees will consider spending about $3 million to hire an architecture firm to design a new Applied Technology Complex, a career-and-technical-education facility the college revived in April after voters rejected its $450 million bond proposal in May 2025.

The college estimates the facility will cost between $47.4 million and $53.7 million to build and said it will fund the project through oil and gas revenue.

  • Preliminary budget: Trustees will review a preliminary 2026-27 budget projecting about $79 million in both revenue and expenditures, roughly 7% higher than this year.

The preliminary budget shows that an increase in property tax collections primarily drove revenue growth, while higher salaries and benefits accounted for most of the increase in spending. The board will discuss the proposal but will not adopt the budget at this meeting.

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  • President’s contract: Trustees will consider renewing the employment contract of Midland College President Damon Kennedy.
  • A fleet overhaul: Trustees will consider a five-year vehicle leasing costing about $157,000 annually to replace 13 vehicles more than 10 years old. The college estimates that purchasing the fleet outright would cost about $700,000. They also expect that selling the old vehicles could generate about $89,000.
  • Athletic-field turf: Trustees will consider spending about $476,000 to install roughly 32,000 square feet of synthetic turf on landscaped slopes around the exterior of the Chaparral Center, a project already included in the proposed 2026-27 budget.
  • Virtual-reality software: Trustees will consider approving about $170,000 over three years for virtual-reality software and hardware used to teach anatomy and neuroscience. An Abell-Hanger Foundation grant will fund the purchase.
  • Child care supplements: Trustees will consider $17,900 in salary supplements for 23 employees at the college’s Pre-K Academy and Helen L. Greathouse Childcare Center. The college said the money comes from a Texas Workforce Commission grant through the Permian Basin Workforce Development Board rather than college funds.
  • Policy updates: Trustees will consider several policy revisions required by changes in state law. The most significant would require the board to fill trustee vacancies within 180 days, either by appointment or special election. Other revisions update information security requirements, admissions policies, faculty governance procedures, and residency determinations to reflect changes adopted by the Legislature.
  • Health program accreditation: Trustees will receive a report that Midland College’s Health Information Management associate degree program earned a seven-year accreditation with commendation, the accrediting commission’s highest level of recognition.
  • Williams Center: Trustees will receive an overview of the Williams Regional Technical Training Center in Fort Stockton, which houses workforce training programs in energy technology, welding, continuing education, and the Petroleum Academy dual-credit partnership with Midland ISD.