Local school districts are ‘Superior’ in financial management
According to the state of Texas, the three Highland Lakes school districts are doing a “superior” job at managing taxpayers’ money.
The Texas Education Agency released the the preliminary school Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas ratings August 9, and the three area public school districts — Burnet, Llano, and Marble Falls — each earned the top rating of Superior.
The Texas Legislature set up the system, referred to as FIRST, in 2001. Along with encouraging public school districts to better manage their financial resources, it lets residents see how their particular district is doing financially.
FIRST looks at 15 financial indicators, including administrative cost expenditures, debt service ratios, a district’s financial information accuracy, the amount of cash on hand, student-to-staff ratio over the past three years, asset-to-liability ratios, and any financial vulnerabilities or material weaknesses in internal controls as determined by an external auditor.
A district can earn four possible financial management ratings: Superior, Above Standard Achievement, Meets Standard, or Substandard Achievement.
Burnet Consolidated Independent School District and Llano ISD each earned a perfect score of 100. Marble Falls ISD received a 98.
Last year, all three districts also earned Superior ratings as well as perfect scores.