Alvarado ISD recently learned it earned a perfect 100 score and a ‘Superior Rating’ from the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), which is used to evaluate district’s finances by the Texas Education Agency.
It is the second consecutive year Alvarado ISD earned a perfect score of 100 and the seventh straight ‘Superior Rating’ which is earned by scoring between a 90-100. It is also the 16th ‘Superior Rating’ out of the last 17 years for the district.
“The perfect score reaffirms our belief that we are being great stewards of the taxpayers money,” said Rodney Toon, Alvarado ISD Chief Financial Officer. “Being fiscally responsible does not begin and end with the finance department. It’s a collective effort by every campus and department in the district to continually receive such high ratings.”
FIRST is the State of Texas’ school financial accountability rating system that ensures that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.
“The perfect FIRST rating is another indication of Alvarado ISD Excellence,” said Alvarado ISD Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Estes. “Our educators strive to provide the finest education for our students and they are certainly outstanding stewards of our taxpayers money. We could not be more proud of the efforts of our finance team and CFO Rodney Toon.”
The rating system includes 15 indicators to determine a school district’s overall FIRST rating. The majority of the indicators receive a 1 to 10 rating with 10 being the highest rate possible. Alvarado ISD received a 10 on each indicator.