Lufkin Independent School District officials announced at a public hearing today that the District received a rating of “A” for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ School F.I.R.S.T. financial accountability rating system for 2023. The “Superior Achievement” rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Lufkin ISD’s financial management and reporting system. Lufkin ISD received a score of 100 out of 100 points.
“We are pleased with this rating and will strive to continue to provide financial excellence to the school district,” CFO Charlotte Bynum said.
This is the 21st year of School F.I.R.S.T. (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 F.I.R.S.T. is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.
The District is required to hold a public hearing to distribute a financial management report that explains the rating received. The rating is based upon student, staff and financial data provided to TEA through several different sources.
The Texas Education Agency assigned one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being “A” for “Superior Achievement.” Lufkin ISD has achieved the highest rating for 19 prior years.
“For a recap, we have a perfect score,” Scott Skelton, board member, said. “You can’t do better than that. Good job!”