Hempstead Independent School District announced that the district received a rating of “A” for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ School FIRST financial accountability rating system. The “Superior Achievement'' rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Hempstead ISD’s financial management and reporting system.
This is the 21st year of Schools FIRST (Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999 and amendments under House Bill 5, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013. The primary goal of School FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school district's financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.
“We are very pleased with Hempstead ISD’s School FIRST rating,” Hempstead ISD Superintendent Herbert O’Neil said. “The business department works hard to meet the needs of our students while continuing to provide financial transparency and sound management of the school district’s financial resources.”
The district’s rating is based on an analysis of the district’s financial data for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to manage their financial resources better and provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes. TEA determines a district’s rating using various performance metrics related to financial management.
TEA assigned one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being “A” for “Superior Achievement,” followed by “B” for “Above-Standard Achievement,” “C” for “Standard Achievement” and “F” for “Substandard Achievement.” Hempstead ISD has achieved an A rating the last two years.