Clarendon, Hedley ISDs earn top financial ratings

The Clarendon and Hedley school districts have been recognized by the Texas Education Agency for their sound fiscal management during the 2022-2023 year with each school system earning an ‘A’ rating.

TEA announced this month that 88 percent of Texas public schools received the ‘A’ or Superior Achievement score from the state’s Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST).

Clarendon CISD Superintendent Jarod Bellar said the state looks at several criteria to score schools on financial accountability.

“They look at about 20 indicators, and they add more each time,” Bellar said. “There are things that if you don’t meet them, it can knock you down big time.”

Clarendon and Hedley both scored the highest rating of 100 on the FIRST.

“I attribute this success to our office staff and the excellent work they do,” Bellar said. “This isn’t based on the STARR or student achievements; it’s a look at finances and fund balances and things like that.”

Hedley CISD Superintendent Tracey Bell also credited her school’s business office for being “fantastic” and also credited the Hedley school board.

“The board does a good job of administering our finances and being fiscally responsible,” Bell said.

Both Clarendon and Hedley have received top FIRST scores from the state for several years, and both will be having public meetings in December to discuss their FIRST ratings.

CCISD will hold a public meeting at 7:00 p.m. December 11, in the Administration & Technology Building located at 416 South Allen Street. HCISD will hold its public meeting December 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Conference Room at 301 Jones Street.

Established in 2001 by the 77th Texas Legislature, FIRST encourages school systems to improve financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes. Ratings for 2022-2023 are based on annual financial reports provided to TEA by school systems for the 2022 fiscal year. These reports are subsequently reviewed by the agency and a rating is assigned.
School systems are assigned one of four possible letter grades (A, B, C, or F) under financial accountability ratings, as well as a coinciding financial management rating (Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Meets Standard Achievement, or Substandard Achievement).

FIRST ratings are calculated using 20 financial indicators for both traditional school districts and public charter schools, such as administrative cost expenditures; the accuracy of a district or charter school’s financial information submitted to TEA; and any financial vulnerabilities or material weaknesses in internal controls as determined by an external auditor.

To review the final 2022-2023 FIRST ratings for all school systems plus view final FIRST ratings from previous years, visit the TEA School FIRST web page for school districts or Charter FIRST web page for charter schools.