Keller ISD board members received a report concerning the district’s Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, or FIRST, score during their regular meeting Dec. 19. FIRST reports are issued to all public school districts in Texas by the Texas Education Agency.

The details

Chief Operations Officer John Allison delivered the news that the district received a score of 70 of a possible 100—therefore achieving a “meets standard” rating for the 2023-24 school year—to board members.

The TEA’s scoring levels include:

• 90-100: A, superior
• 80-89: B, above standard
• 70-79: C, meets standard
• 0-69: F, substandard

Allison said FIRST reporting, which began in 2009, has not kept up with the “drastic” changes in public funding for schools. Changes Allison cited include the lack of state funding increases for public education since 2019, near record inflationary impacts on school districts and underfunded mandates.

“For Keller, those underfunded mandates are somewhere in the range of $52 million per year,” Allison said.

He added the district did not score well on the indicators dealing with fund balance.

“Not only Keller, but school districts across the state are impacted on these indicators because it was a number that was arbitrarily set and has not been adjusted based on the financial reality of the state,” Allison said.

Neighboring districts Northwest ISD and Carroll ISD both scored 96 out of 100 points on their FIRST reports, giving both of those districts “superior” ratings.

The backstory

FIRST is a state financial accountability rating system that holds school districts accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and that they improve those practices, according to a TEA website.

The rating is based on a number of factors, including:

• Audit materials being submitted on time
• Debt being paid on time
• The average change in fund balance
• A district’s cash on hand
• Administrative costs