What to watch: The Midland ISD Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday, June 23, to consider adopting a balanced budget after operating with a deficit this year, approve the latest amendment to the current year’s budget showing an all-fund $41.5 million deficit, review preliminary STAAR results, and receive updates on student technology and employee healthcare.

Key points:

  • A balanced budget: Trustees will hold the required public hearing before voting on a proposed balanced budget for the 2026-27 school year. The proposed general fund operating budget totals about $350.5 million, down roughly 9.2% from last year. Across all district funds, the total proposed budget is about $468.5 million, about 7.8% lower than last year.

The district is proposing the same tax rate as last year, although it said the final rate could change slightly after the state completes its final calculations in September. Based on current estimates, the owner of an average Midland home would pay about $92 less in school property taxes next year. In April, the district estimated it would enroll about 29,000 students in the upcoming school year.

  • Budget amendment: Trustees will consider the 11th amendment to the current 2025-26 budget. The revised budget shows the district spent more than originally planned for the school year. The combined budget across all funds, at $575.5 million, is $67.3 million more than last year’s originally proposed budget and ends up about $41.5 million in the red.

Separately, trustees will consider committing $12.7 million of the district’s accumulated fund balance for capital projects and the self-funded insurance fund. Of that amount, $3 million would support the employee health insurance fund, $3.7 million would cover a bus route and an elevator repair, and $6 million would be for future needs requiring a separate board vote.

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Because that $12.7 million transfer leaves the general fund, the budget amendment records it as part of the general fund’s spending for the year, but the transfer is a reallocation of existing reserves rather than new spending.

  • YMCA after-school care: Trustees will consider renewing the district’s agreement with the YMCA of Midland to continue providing licensed after-school childcare on elementary campuses and off-site. The proposal raises monthly tuition from $240 to $250 while continuing free after-school care for full-time MISD employees, who would instead pay a one-time $30 registration fee.

The agreement also continues the district’s revenue-sharing arrangement, under which MISD received either 8% of program revenue or $100,000, whichever is greater.

  • Student technology access: Trustees will consider updating local policy to formally state that MISD may monitor and restrict the use of district-issued Chromebooks, networks, and online activity.

The proposal follows the board’s April discussion about student screen time, when Trustee Matt Friez asked district leaders to provide more information on Chromebook usage. Trustees will also receive an update on the district’s review of student technology practices and possible future changes.

  • Employee Care Clinic: Trustees will receive an update on the district-run health clinic for employees as MISD looks for ways to reduce healthcare costs. District leaders said in May that the self-funded health plan is projected to overspend its budget by about $1.7 million this year, driven largely by employees’ use of costly freestanding emergency rooms.
  • IDEA Travis land sale: Trustees will consider rejecting the only offer received for approximately 38.5 acres of district-owned property at 1900 S. Lamesa Road, south of IDEA Travis Elementary. The district says the offer was well below the property’s estimated market value. The agenda does not identify the buyer or the proposed purchase price. The sale does not appear to include the IDEA Travis school building.

After IDEA Travis received a third straight D accountability rating from the state, trustees voted in April to terminate IDEA’s lease and reassign Travis students to other campuses for 2026-27. IDEA’s board responded by authorizing legal action against MISD.

  • Preliminary STAAR results: Trustees will receive an early look at districtwide STAAR performance before the state releases official accountability ratings later this year.