What to watch: The Midland ISD board will meet Tuesday, Sept. 15, to adopt the district’s 2026-27 property tax rate, consider selling its 26-acre Boneyard property to Midland College for $10.7 million, and receive its first public update in months on efforts to establish a juvenile alternative education program with Midland County.

Trustees will also evaluate Superintendent Stephanie Howard, review the district’s first academic benchmarks of the school year, and receive updates on teacher staffing and special education.

Key points:

  • Tax rate: The board will consider adopting the same property tax rate as last year. Despite the unchanged rate, the district’s tax impact statement projects the median homestead’s MISD tax bill will fall by about $283 annually because the district’s taxable values fell by roughly $7.2 billion.
  • $10.7M Boneyard sale: Midland College has offered to purchase the roughly 26-acre district property known as the Boneyard for $10.7 million. Trustees will consider authorizing the sale, which is expected to close within 120 days of the resolution. MISD would retain access to the existing facilities until its new high schools are completed and would retain all mineral rights beneath the property.
  • Juvenile alternative school: Superintendent Stephanie Howard will update trustees on discussions with Midland County about establishing a Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP), a state-authorized alternative education program for students removed from their regular schools for certain serious disciplinary offenses. The packet describes the presentation as an overview of completed work and the steps still needed to establish the program.

The district has been discussing a JJAEP for almost a year, with much of the discussion happening in closed session for attorney consultation. MISD previously threatened Midland County in May that it may sue if the county does not commit to opening a JJAEP before the start of the 2026-27 school year. The county has not yet publicly committed, and the district has not publicly discussed the issue since.

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Texas lawmakers created another legal path in 2025, allowing school districts in counties without access to a JJAEP to place certain expelled students in a virtual expulsion program instead. MISD previously told trustees it was waiting for state guidance before evaluating that option. The district has not publicly updated the board on that process, and the May 20 demand letter does not mention it.

  • Superintendent’s evaluation: Trustees will meet in closed session for Howard’s annual appraisal and may take action on her contract afterward. Before the closed session, trustees will also consider the timeline, criteria, and evaluation template for Howard’s 2026-27 evaluation, with at least half tied to board-adopted student outcome goals.
  • First academic benchmark: District staff will present beginning-of-year i-Ready reading and math results, the district’s first academic benchmark for 2026-27. MISD uses i-Ready results for Board Goal A, which tracks the percentage of students performing on grade level. Mid-year and end-of-year i-Ready assessments will measure student growth from the baseline presented Tuesday.
  • Teacher staffing: District staff will report that MISD entered the school year with a 99.7% teacher fill rate as of Aug. 14. The district recorded 49 employee departures in July, compared with 33 in July 2025, including 23 teachers. The presentation will also cover the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which provides supplemental pay to attract and retain designated teachers.
  • Special education: Trustees will receive a quarterly update on MISD’s five-year special education strategic plan, adopted after an audit identified gaps in systems, service quality, and compliance. The update tracks progress on objectives including more consistent services across campuses and compliance with federal special education requirements. The audit results have not yet been made public.
  • UTPB police dispatch: Trustees will consider a $40,000 agreement with the UTPB Police Department to provide after-hours and weekend dispatch services for MISD police. UTPB’s licensed telecommunicators would receive MISD alarm calls, communicate with officers, and dispatch them when necessary.
  • Civics education pilot: Trustees will consider an agreement for an eighth-grade social studies pilot using CivicsSchool learning modules. The National Center for Grow Your Own would provide implementation and technical support.
  • District 6 election canceled: Trustees will formally cancel the District 6 portion of the Nov. 3 election after incumbent Sara Burleson was the only candidate to file for the seat. Under Texas election law, an unopposed candidate can be declared elected without appearing on the ballot. MISD’s other contested trustee races will remain on the Nov. 3 ballot.