TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Independent School District has once again received a Superior financial accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). This year’s rating reflects the district’s financial conduct and reporting during the 2023-2024 school year.
The TEA’s Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) uses 21 indicators to measure a district’s compliance with auditing regulations and numerous state-determined thresholds of financial health. The annual ratings require tremendous effort on the part of both the district and the state to ensure that each school system is being a good steward of funds. The TISD board of trustees received a report of the district’s latest FIRST rating and officially approved that report during the board’s monthly meeting in September.
TISD’s superior rating is based on the district’s performance on those 21 financial measures. Ten of the financial indicators are graded on a pass/fail basis with TISD passing all ten of those measures. The other 11 indicators are scored on either a five-point or ten-point scale and TISD maintained its score from the previous year’s report by receiving 96 out of a possible 100 points on those measures. A superior rating is the highest possible rating for a school district.
Along with the superior FIRST rating on the state level, Temple ISD’s Finance Department has also been recognized for financial transparency and integrity by international and national groups this calendar year. Temple ISD also received financial recognition from the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the sixth consecutive year.
“Maintaining the Superior FIRST rating reflects Temple ISD’s ongoing commitment to financial integrity and responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds,” said Brandy Stanford, Assistant Superintendent of Finance for Temple ISD. “Our community places great trust in us to manage resources wisely, and we take that responsibility seriously as we work to provide the best possible education and opportunities for students.”
The FIRST system ensures that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial practices and that they improve these practices. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes. All public schools in the state are required to submit financial accountability reports to the TEA each year.