Alvin ISD has earned an “A” rating from the State of Texas through the Texas Financial Health Rating System. This is the highest rating issued by the Texas Education Agency and available to the district, according to district documents.
overview
According to the district’s presentation, FIRST is used to “assess the quality of financial management in Texas public schools.”
The district received a score of 96 out of 100, two points higher than last year’s score of 94, according to TEA data.
dig deeper
The FIRST assessment uses 21 indicators. These include whether the district submitted financial documents to the TEA within the required timeframe; If the school district complies with its debt payments by the end of the year. When cash on hand is sufficient. and whether the ratio of current assets to debt is sufficient to cover short-term obligations.
The only metric where the district did not receive a 10/10 score was “Indicator 12,” which assesses the ratio of property appraised value to future interest and reduced payments. The I&S payments will be used for debt service, or bond payments, according to district documents.
According to the presentation, AISD received a score of 6/10 on this metric.
AISD Chief Financial Officer Daniel Combs said the metric is a “known challenge for a rapidly growing school district.”
“On the debt service front, the state has done little to help rapidly growing districts build schools,” Combs said. “They really rely on school districts, school boards and bond elections to accommodate new growth. When students come to certain areas too quickly, it creates tension because the community Because I have the responsibility of taking care of new children.
Community Impact has previously reported that bonds are the primary way school districts raise money for school construction and repairs.