Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brenham ISD reports FIRST score of 76 amid low cash-on-hand and falling fund balance
Summary
CFO Daryl St. Clair told the board the districts 24-25 School FIRST accountability score is 76, citing a roughly 34% three-year decline in assigned/unassigned fund balance and about 26 days of cash on hand; the board discussed remedies and next-year expectations.
Brenham ISD Chief Financial Officer Daryl St. Clair presented the districts 2024-25 School FIRST financial accountability report, reporting an overall score of 76 and noting that the districts total net position "was over 25,000,000." He described indicator-by-indicator results and said several measures received full credit while others—most notably days of cash on hand and a three-year fund-balance calculation—fell short.
St. Clair told trustees that the districts average change in assigned and unassigned fund balance over three years "was about 34%," exceeding the 25% threshold and costing the district a scaled indicator. He also said the districts days of operational cash were about 26 days, short of the 75-day mark used for full credit. "We got 2 points" on the cash-on-hand scaled indicator and "the grand total of all the score... was 76," he said. Trustees and staff discussed coding and reclassification steps that have increased administrative-cost efficiency and the districts plans to improve cash flow in 24-25.
St. Clair outlined several technical items that raised the score on other indicators: an unmodified audit opinion for 23-24, compliance with debt agreements, and a long-term-liabilities-to-assets ratio that narrowly met the required cutoff. He also noted steps taken in coding expenses away from administration and toward instructional functions and said he expects some of the metrics to improve in next years report as 24-25 results roll in.
The presentation concluded with questions from trustees about the recoding work, the timeline for seeing improvements, and whether one-time or recurring changes would be needed to restore days of cash. St. Clair said the district is implementing changes in the 24-25 budget and monitoring cash flow tied to state payments and tax collections.
