NISD receives another ’Superior Achievement’ on FIRST rating

Nacogdoches Independent School District officials 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 Nacogdoches ISD’s financial management and reporting system.

This is the 18th year of School FIRST (Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by 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 districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.

“We are very pleased with Nacogdoches ISD’s School FIRST rating,” said Nacogdoches ISD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo. “This rating shows that our district is making the most of taxpayer dollars and that NISD is accountable not only for student learning but also for achieving these results cost-effectively and efficiently.”

Texas Education Agency assigns 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.” Nacogdoches ISD has achieved the highest rating for 10 consecutive years and for 15 years of the 18 years FIRST has existed.