BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – In August, the Texas Education Agency released a preliminary financial accountability assessment of school districts across the state.
The assessment, called the State of Texas Financial Soundness Rating System (FIRST), is a way for TEA to hold school districts accountable for their financial practices.
The TEA assigns these ratings using school district financial data compiled by third-party auditors.
Final ratings are expected to be released in November, but these preliminary assessments are available to the public, and if a district believes the report is inaccurate, it can appeal the assessment.
New Waverly ISD is one of the districts working through this process.
“We submitted a formal letter outlining the reasons why we should appeal and requesting an appeal, which the state accepted,” Superintendent Darol Hale said.
Hale said he was surprised by the preliminary grade of “F.” A closer look at the audit report revealed accidental errors that could have far-reaching consequences.
“They accidentally marked ‘no’ on one of the first four questions and now in the appeal process they’ve received a letter from the auditor saying this was inadvertent and they shouldn’t have done it,” Hale said.
According to the TEA, a failing grade may impact a district’s accreditation, but it will not have any impact or consequences on students.
The district is appealing the assessment, but Hale said he remains unhappy that the provisional assessment was made public despite being subject to chance.
“In this case, someone is reading the evaluation today and not realizing it won’t be finalized until November. All they know is that they saw these districts fail,” he said.
He believes there is room for improvement in how the preliminary assessment is reported.
“What if we put something next to each district that says, ‘These districts are contesting their assessments,'” Hale added.
Below is a copy of the criteria TEA uses to calculate the FIRST rating.
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