AISD receives A in financial accountability

Posted Date: 11/16/2022

Atlanta Independent School District officials announced that the district received a rating of “A” for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ School FIRST financial accountability rating system. The “Superior Achievement” rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Atlanta ISD’s financial management and reporting system. 

This is the 19th consecutive year of the School FIRST rating system and AISD has earned the top honor every year since its inception. School FIRST (Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas) is a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency under Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999 and amended under House Bill 5, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013. 

The primary goal of School FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system. 

“We are very pleased with our School FIRST rating,” AISD Superintendent Jason Harris said. “This rating shows that our district is making the most of our taxpayers’ dollars. It also shows that our district is accountable not only for student learning, but also for achieving these results cost-effectively and efficiently.” 

AISD will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Dec. 20, 2022, in the boardroom of the administration building to discuss this rating. 

The Texas Education Agency assigned one of four financial accountability ratings to all 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.”