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August 31, 2011
TO THE SUPERINTENDENT
ADDRESSED:
Subject: Official Notification of the 2011 Final School
FIRST Rating
The purpose of this communication
is to inform you of your school district’s final 2011 School FIRST (Financial
Integrity Rating System of Texas) rating. In a TO THE SUPERINTENDENT ADDRESSED letter dated June 16, 2011, the
Texas Education Agency (TEA or agency) notified school districts of the
issuance of preliminary ratings under the financial accountability rating
system, which officially is referred to as School FIRST. As noted in the June 16, 2011 letter, the 2011
School FIRST ratings were based upon an analysis of staff and student data
reported for the 2009-2010 school year and budgetary and actual financial data
for the 2010 fiscal year (the fiscal period ended June 30, 2010 or August 31,
2010, depending upon the ending date of the school district’s fiscal year).
A primary purpose of
the June 16, 2011 letter was to provide school districts an opportunity to
review the preliminary ratings and data supporting the 22 indicators and to
submit a written appeal, as appropriate. As documented, written appeals were due to the TEA by July 15, 2011. Please note that TEA staff responded to all
appeals in separate correspondence, and the
preliminary School FIRST ratings for certain school districts were
amended. The final ratings and the data
supporting the 22 indicators are accessible by the district at http://tuna.tea.state.tx.us/First/forms/main.aspx. Please note that final School FIRST ratings
are accessible only from the TEA’s website.
Within two months
after receipt of its final School FIRST rating, each school district must
announce and hold a public meeting to distribute a financial management report
that explains the district’s rating and its performance under each of the 22
indicators for the current and prior year. The first of two required published newspaper notices, to inform the
taxpayers of the meeting, may not be more than 30 days prior to or less than 14
days prior to the public meeting, in accordance with 19 TAC §109.1005. The public meeting to present the School FIRST
rating may be combined with a scheduled regular meeting of the board of tr
In December 2007, TEA
adopted 19 TAC Chapter 97, Planning and Accountability, Subchapter EE, Accreditation
Status, Standards, and Sanctions, in response to the requirements of House
Bill (HB) 1, of the 79th Texas Legislature, Third Called Session, 2006. This subchapter, which became effective in
January 2008, defined the accreditation statuses of Accredited,
Accredited-Warned, Accredited-Probation, and Not Accredited-Revoked and stated
how accreditation statuses would be determined and assigned to school
districts. The rules also established
accreditation standards and sanctions, including oversight appointments. Under the authority of the Texas Education
Code (TEC) and adopted rules, accreditation statuses have been assigned to
districts since 2007-2008. Please note
that, in accordance with these rules, including subsequent rule revisions, TEA
will take into consideration a district’s School FIRST rating when assigning an
accreditation status.
Additionally, please
note that a district’s final School FIRST rating may impact its special
education determination status as issued by the TEA under the requirements of
the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) and 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §300.608(a).
For upcoming fiscal
years, certain changes have been made, or are proposed to be made, to the
School FIRST indicators. Specifically,
beginning with fiscal year 2010-2011, the number of financial indicators will
be reduced from 22 to 21 with the deletion of the indicator that refers to a
school district’s academic rating, which will affect FIRST ratings issued in
2012. TEA also has proposed rules to be
finalized this summer which change the fund balance and cash management
indicators for the FIRST rules relating to the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 fiscal
years, which will affect FIRST ratings issued in 2012 and 2013. With these changes, it is the intent of the
agency to avoid penalizing districts that elect to expend portions of their
fund balance in the upcoming biennium as a result of current economic
conditions and changes made by the Legislature to the state funding system. Additional information on the changes can be
found on the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=2147500883 and http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/finaudit031611.html.
The TEA gratefully
acknowledges the generous
assistance provided by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and school
district and education service center officials in the ongoing implementation of
School FIRST. The TEA also appreciates
the continued assistance provided by the Texas Association of School Business
Officials, Texas Association of School Boards, and other professional associations. If you have questions about your district’s
School FIRST rating, please contact Janice Hollingsworth in the Division of
Financial Audits at (512) 463-9095.
Sincerely,
Rita Chase
Director
Financial Audits
Division
cc: Education Service Center (ESC) Executive
Directors
Laura Taylor, Associate Commissioner,
Department of Accreditation, TEA
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