Liberty Hill Independent School District officials announced that the district received a rating of “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ Schools FIRST financial accountability rating system. The Superior Achievement rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Liberty Hill ISD’s financial management and reporting system.
This is the seventh year of Schools FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability rating system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999.
The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to manage their financial resources better in order to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes. The system will also disclose the quality of local management and decision-making processes that impact the allocation of financial resources in Texas public schools. An evaluation of the long-term effectiveness of the system should disclose a measurable improvement in the quality of Texas public schools' financial decision-making processes.
“We are very pleased with Liberty Hill ISD’s Schools FIRST rating,” said Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Dr. Rob Hart, “as it shows that our district is making the most of our taxpayers’ dollars. This rating shows that Liberty Hill schools are accountable not only for student learning, but also for achieving these excellent results cost-effectively and efficiently. Liberty Hill ISD has achieved the state’s highest rating every year since the inception of the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas.”
The Schools FIRST accountability rating system assigns one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being “Superior Achievement,” followed by “Above-Standard Achievement,” “Standard Achievement, “ and “Substandard Achievement.” Districts with serious data quality problems may receive the additional rating of “Suspended- Data Quality.” Districts that receive the “Substandard Achievement” or “Suspended –Data Quality” ratings under Schools FIRST must file a corrective action plan with the Texas Education Agency.