What to watch: The Midland ISD Board of Trustees will meet Sept. 16 to set the official 2025–26 tax rate, review student attendance data, and finalize the superintendent’s evaluation framework.

Key points:

  • Budget and tax rate: Trustees will adopt the new tax rate for the district. The school board already approved the 2025–26 budget in June. The proposed new rate is lower than the one considered earlier this summer. For homeowners, the average tax bill will be about 3% lower than last year, even though property values have risen.

  • Student attendance report: The board will hear a report on student absenteeism. MISD’s 2024–25 attendance rate was 92.5%, below the district’s 93.9% goal. For 2025–26, the target rises to 94%. To address absenteeism, the district has streamlined truancy filings with the courts, created a one-page attendance guide for families, and made the Truancy Coordinator part of the leadership team for stronger accountability.

  • Superintendent evaluation process: Trustees will approve the framework they’ll use to evaluate Superintendent Stephanie Howard. Normally, the board completes its review by September, but this year, they decided to give themselves more time. The board will evaluate Howard’s 2024-25 school-year performance in January, and then the district will return to the regular September evaluation schedule.

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The new evaluation system changes how the board grades the superintendent. Instead of a long checklist, the new form will focus on fewer than 15 criteria, each meant to be achievable within one school year. At least half of the score will come directly from student outcomes such as reading, math, and college-readiness results. Trustees will rate performance on a four-step scale (Did Not Meet, Approaches, Met, Masters), and will be required to explain any low scores with written comments.