District Receives Top Financial Integrity Rating Again

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District has received a rating of “A” for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ Schools FIRST financial accountability rating system for the 16th straight year.

The “A” rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Los Fresnos CISD’s financial management and reporting system.

This is the 16th year of Schools FIRST (Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999. The primary goal of Schools FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant because of the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.

“This continues to show that our taxpayers that the school district is spending its tax money wisely,” Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar said.

“This rating shows that our schools are accountable for student learning and for achieving these results in a cost-effective manner.”

Los Fresnos CISD has achieved the highest possible rating in each of the 16 years the accountability system has been in place.

The Texas Education Agency assigned one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being “A” for

“Superior Achievement,” followed by “B” for “Above-Standard Achievement,” “C” for “Standard Achievement” and “F” for “Substandard Achievement.”