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Beaumont ISD scores 'Superior' on state financial rating; board asks how to recover two points
Summary
Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Hernandez reported Beaumont ISD earned a 'Superior Achievement' Financial Integrity Rating (98/100) for 2023–24, noting full compliance on many indicators but two points lost on administrative cost ratio (10.85%); trustees asked how to recover those points.
Beaumont ISD received a 'Superior Achievement' rating under the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), scoring 98 out of 100 possible points, the district’s chief financial officer reported at the Oct. 16 board meeting.
Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Hernandez told trustees the rating is based on 21 indicators and tied to the 2023–24 financial and audit data. The district met the four critical indicators (audit submission, unmodified auditor opinion, paying debt obligations, timely payments to IRS/Teacher Retirement and similar obligations). Henderson said the district passed multiple solvency and cash‑on‑hand tests and reported no material weaknesses in the audit. “We did receive a superior achievement score on our 24/25 first rating…we did score 98 of a possible 100 points,” Hernandez said.
The presentation flagged one area where the district did not receive full points: indicator 13 — administrative cost ratio — where Beaumont ISD’s ratio was 10.85%, placing it within a second category and costing the district two points. Trustees asked what steps would regain those points; Hernandez said the district is actively reducing administrative expenditures, including reductions in legal fees and personnel coding reviews, and noted last year’s budget cut of about $1 million in administrative positions (which may or may not be reflected in the audited period used for the current rating).
Hernandez said the district will post the annual financial management report and that the next rating (for 2024–25) will be available in October 2026 after audit submission in early 2026. Trustees thanked her and questioned whether the administrative‑cost metric in the FIRST system would capture recent reductions. Hernandez confirmed the 24/25 submission will reflect changes once the audit is completed.
No formal board action was required on the rating itself; trustees discussed budget and coding practices and asked for continued monitoring and public posting of financial documents.
