CROSBY – Last Monday, the Crosby ISD Board of Trustees meet and topics were mostly related to finances.
Crosby ISD’s Chief Financial Officer, Lesa Jones, held a public hearing at the Regular Meeting of the Crosby ISD’s Board of Trustees to present results from the Texas Education Agency’s Schools FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) financial accountability rating system indicating that Crosby ISD received a C for Standard Achievement based on financial data from the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The District scored 72 out of 100 possible points. The Texas Education Agency assigns one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being an A for Superior Achievement, followed by B for Above-Standard Achievement,C for Standard Achievement, and F for Substandard Achievement. In Texas, 83% of school districts received an A for Superior Achievement rating, 11% received a B, Above Standard rating, 6% received a C Standard Achievement rating, and less than 1% of districts received an F Substandard Achievement rating.
There are 15 indicators used to determine a District rating. The following three indicators resulted in the deduction of points for Crosby ISD:
Was the number of days of cash on hand and current investments in the general fund for the school district sufficient to cover operating expenditures? 0 out of 10 points
Was the measure of current assets to current liabilities ratio for the school district sufficient to cover short-term debt? 2 out of 10 points
Did the school district’s general fund revenues equal or exceed expenditures (excluding facilities acquisition and construction)? If not, was the school district’s number of days of cash on hand greater than or equal to 60 days? 0 out of 10 points
“Because the data used for the FIRST report runs a year behind, we expect that it will take a few years before we see this rating improve and realize the full benefits of the cost-saving measures implemented in the last few months,” said Crosby ISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Davis. “We are already in a better place financially than we were 6 months ago and we continue to work tirelessly behind the scenes with our Board of Trustees to restore this district to complete financial stability. It may take some time, but we are determined.”