Jonathan Pastusek, chief financial officer for Northwest ISD, delivered the news that the district received a superior rating to board members during their regular meeting Oct. 7. A superior rating is the highest possible achievement the state of Texas can bestow on a district’s financial management and reporting system.

It's the 22nd year in a row that Northwest ISD received a superior rating.

The backstory

Pastusek said the rating is accomplished through the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, which was created in 1999 to ensure financial accountability and transparency within school districts.

According to district documents, the primary goal of FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, which has become more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.

Pastusek said school districts are evaluated on 21 indicators, then are given a grade of A-F based on the following levels:

• A: Superior (90-100)
• B: Above Standard (80-89)
• C: Meets Standard (70-79)
• F: Substandard Achievement (69 and below)

Zooming in

Pastusek said some of the indicators included questions about whether the district was in compliance with debt payments and teacher retirement payments, and if the district’s cash on hand and investments were sufficient to cover operating expenses.

He added the district received a 96 out of a possible 100 points. The district fell short on two questions concerning debt with regard to growth, which Pastusek said had to do with the growth rate the district was experiencing.

“This is a difficult one for fast-growth school districts because we’re always having assets depreciating and our debt is increasing,” Pastusek said.