Taylor ISD CFO: Most TEA financial-indicator tests passed; staff-to-student decline flagged

Taylor Independent School District’s chief financial officer presented the district’s Annual Financial Report results and Texas Education Agency (TEA) financial-indicator outcomes at a public hearing Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, saying most indicators passed but some metrics warrant attention.

The presentation to the Taylor ISD Board of Trustees summarized each TEA indicator test that the agency uses to review district financial health. "We did pass this 10 out of 10," the chief financial officer said of one liquidity measure. The officer also reported a score of 6 out of 10 on a long-term-liabilities-to-assets ratio and an 8 out of 10 on debt-per-100-of-assessed-value, and said the district did not pass the indicator that asks whether there has been less than a 15% decline in students-to-staff over the last three years.

Why this matters: TEA indicator tests and the district’s Annual Financial Report (AFR) are used to flag short- and long-term fiscal risks and to ensure public disclosure of key financial data. The CFO noted several indicators were not evaluated by TEA this year.

Key results reported by the district’s CFO: - A current-assets-to-current-liabilities test was reported as fully passing ("10 out of 10"). - General fund revenues equaled or exceeded expenditures for the year (indicator passed). - Indicator 10 and indicator 16 were not calculated or evaluated by TEA this year and were skipped, the CFO said. - The ratio of long-term liabilities to total assets (indicator 11) received a 6 out of 10 score; the CFO said the district should improve that metric in coming years. - Debt per 100 of assessed property value (indicator 12) passed with an 8 out of 10 score. - The administrative-cost ratio (indicator 13) met the threshold. - The district did not meet the indicator asking whether there was not a 15% decline in student-to-staff ratio over three years (indicator 14 failed). - External audit-related indicators were clean: the independent auditor’s report did not report instances affecting the AFR (indicator 17), and the auditor found no material noncompliance findings for grants, contracts, or applicable laws (indicator 18). - The district reported it posted required financial information on its website in accordance with the Texas Government Code and the Texas Education Code (indicator 19 passed), and trustees discussed property values within 120 days before budget adoption (indicator 20 passed). - The district did not receive an adjusted repayment schedule for overallocated funds for more than one fiscal year (indicator 21 not applicable/not received).

On disclosures required under state rules, the CFO said the superintendent’s contract was available on the district website for public review and provided the district’s TEA ID as 246911. The district reported a review of all reimbursements to board members for the 12-month period and said no outside compensation or fees were reported for the superintendent. The CFO reported a gift disclosure noting a $49,000 payment to Anita Volick during the fiscal 12-month period; no other board-determined disclosures were cited.

The hearing drew no questions from the public, and the board president closed the public hearing at 6:54 p.m., after which the board convened the regular meeting. The CFO said all underlying data are available through TEA.

The presentation referenced TEA indicator tests, the district’s Annual Financial Report (AFR) and the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) as data sources. The CFO noted that some indicator items were not evaluated by TEA this year and that the district will seek improvements on the long-term solvency indicator in coming years.