Wichita Falls ISD earns A in TEA financial integrity rating; district holds required public hearing

The Wichita Falls Independent School District reported an A — "superior achievement" — and a score of 96 on the Texas Education Agency's Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) based on 2023-24 fiscal data, district staff said at a public hearing. The board held the hearing to present the rating; no action was required or taken.

Miss Wharton, a Wichita Falls ISD presenter, told the Board of Trustees the rating reflects the district's 2023-24 audited financial report and associated data submitted to TEA. "We received an A, superior achievement," Wharton said, noting the rating is derived from multiple indicators that measure the district's financial management and reporting.

The district reported passing most FIRST indicators. Wharton said the district submitted its annual financial report and data within the required timeframe, received an unmodified opinion on its annual financial report, and met payment terms on debt agreements. The district scored 10 out of 10 on indicator 7 (days of cash on hand and current investments), reporting 164 days of cash and investments in the general fund. She said indicator 11 (ratio of long-term liabilities to total assets) improved from 8 to 10 points year over year.

Wharton described other indicator results: an 8-of-10 score on the current assets-to-current-liabilities ratio and an 8-of-10 score on the correlation between future debt requirements and the district's assessed property values. She said the district received full points (5 of 5) on an indicator tied to average daily attendance projections after the board certified TEA's pupil projections; TEA had projected about 12,000 students and the district reported 11,480 in actual attendance for the year cited. The presenter also said the variance between PEIMS data and amounts in the AFR was 0.0003, which she described as rounding.

Wharton said the district recovered from the prior year's shortfall on one indicator tied to SCE requirements. She said the district previously received a zero on that indicator after a reduction in force that reduced roughly $9,000,000 in staff costs; the district's 2023-24 data restored compliance on that indicator. Wharton also noted legislative changes removing a prior SCE 55% spending requirement.

The presenter summarized the calculation process: auditors convert the AFR into a data file that TEA cross-checks against PEIMS and other data to produce the FIRST rating. She told the board the district's overall score rose from 86 the prior year to 96 on this rating.

The board's Vice President opened the meeting and introduced the presentation. Dr. Lee, who spoke during the discussion, and other trustees asked clarifying questions about specific indicators and the inclusion of bonded debt in debt ratios. After the presentation, the board proceeded to the public comment period; no members of the public offered comments. The board then moved to adjourn. The meeting was called to order at 5:32 p.m. and adjourned at 5:46 p.m.

No formal votes on policy or budget items occurred at the public hearing; the presentation was informational and no action was taken.

Items of note from the hearing that may affect oversight or future budget discussion include the unmodified audit opinion, the district's 164 days of cash and investments in the general fund, the 96 FIRST score, the restoration of compliance on the SCE-related indicator after a prior reduction in force, and the district's use of TEA pupil projections (TEA projected ~12,000; actual reported 11,480).