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Pearland ISD earns A "Superior" rating in state financial review, board hears fund-balance plan
Summary
The Pearland Independent School District received the highest possible score on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) for the 2024–25 fiscal year, a board presentation said Thursday. District leaders described continuing work to grow fund balance and address a cross‑year tax payment timing issue that reduced a ceiling score.
The Pearland Independent School District earned a Superior (A) rating under the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas for the 2024–25 fiscal year, Superintendent Doctor Berger told the school board on Oct. 14.
Berger said the district scored 95 out of 100 on the FIRST evaluation, the highest possible rating under state rules. The rating reflects “excellence in financial management and accountability,” he said, and signals an unmodified audit opinion, stable debt practices and compliance with reporting requirements.
The district reported an assigned and unassigned fund-balance equivalent of about 93 days of operating reserves and an overall fund-balance equivalent of roughly 128 days. Board members and administrators said the district is continuing steps to grow that assigned/unassigned balance toward internal targets in the 110–120 day range. Berger said doing so and reducing outstanding debt would improve a few indicator scores—he singled out indicator 8 and a ceiling on indicator 4—as the district looks to move from a 95 to a possible 100 total points in future rating cycles.
Board members asked about the effect of bond sales on debt ratios. Berger said the district is in the process of selling a second series tied to a maintenance bond and plans another series next year; roughly $25 million remains to be issued in a later series. He noted that ratios will move as debt is issued and retired.
The district earned full points on indicators 9–13 and 14–21, Berger said, and the business office was singled out for the work that led to the Superior rating. The superintendent credited recent process and staff changes in the business office, and said the district’s transparency—posting required financial documents to the website—earned full credit in reporting categories.
The board held a public hearing on the FIRST rating; there were no public comments during the hearing, and no formal board action was required other than the presentation and public record.
The superintendent said the business office will continue to monitor cash, assets and liabilities and pursue policies aimed at the district’s longer-term fund-balance targets. Trustee questions focused on how bond issuances and expected future expenditures will affect the district’s ratios and whether additional points could be earned by reaching assigned fund-balance targets.
The district will post the financial and FIRST materials on its website and continue periodic reporting to the board.
