ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. — Cowley College trustees on Monday approved the school’s 2025-26 budget and signed off on vehicle purchases for the Sumner Campus and the Criminal Justice program.
Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration Holly Harper said the $6.7 million tax levy is based on a county valuation of just over $410 million. The budget sets the operating mill levy at 15.212 and the capital outlay mill levy at 1.25. The plan passed on a 7-0 vote following a public budget hearing where no comments were made.
Trustees also voted unanimously to purchase a 2025 Ford Escape for $27,800 using Sumner County sales tax funds and a 2023 Dodge Durango for $38,825 with Tech Ed Capital Outlay funds. In a separate 6-0-1 vote, the board agreed to create a new bank account to keep Sumner County sales tax funds separate from other college operating money.
President Michelle Schoon told the board that fall enrollment is trending ahead of last year’s numbers. Trustees also heard reports on policy updates, enrollment efforts, and noted a donation of 30 800 MHz radios to the college’s Criminal Justice program through a partnership with the Kansas Department of Emergency Management and other agencies.
Regular meetings of the trustees are held in the McAtee Dining Center on the Cowley main campus in Ark City.
