Katrina Montgomery, chief financial officer for Austin Independent School District, told the board of trustees in a public hearing Oct. 30 that the district received a "superior achievement" Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) score of 95 for the 2024-25 reporting cycle, based on financial data from July 2023 through June 2024.

"This is how TEA evaluates the district," Montgomery said as she introduced the FIRST overview, which measures 21 indicators including the districts annual audit, debt payments, timely payments to government agencies and various solvency ratios. Montgomery said the districts 95 is the highest score in five years and reflects continued work to prioritize classroom funding.

The presentation highlighted several specific points. Indicator 13, the administrative cost ratio intended to measure the share of funds directed to noninstructional overhead, improved to a score of 10 after prior increases; Montgomery reported Austin ISDs administrative cost ratio at 0.0835, compared with the TEA threshold of 0.0855. She also said the district improved its current-assets-to-current-liabilities measure (indicator 8). Montgomery noted that the 2024-25 FIRST score reflects historical data and that updated results for later years will be published in the usual TEA schedule.

Montgomery also identified one compliance-related downgrade in the FIRST indicators tied to timely payments to governmental agencies. "We missed in November 2023 by 1 day, making our sales tax payment," she said, and added that the district has not repeated that error since.

A recorded public commenter, identifying herself as Marie and describing herself as a parent, asked the board to distinguish what the FIRST rating does and does not assess and urged the district to address headquarters spending, legal fees and lawsuits, and staffing at district headquarters. "The financial integrity rating does not assess the district expenditures such as being over budget on the bond, legal fee expenses, or the size and salaries of HQ against what is reasonable," the caller said.

Trustees asked Montgomery clarifying questions about the lag in data (the 2024-25 score uses 2023-24 financials) and whether the district could provide peer demographic and enrollment information. Montgomery said she would supplement the presentation with total student population and demographic breakdowns for peer districts as requested.

Montgomery also noted the district's high bond ratings from Moody's, Fitch and S&P and cited awards for financial reporting and budgeting from the Association of School Business Officials and the Government Finance Officers Association.

The hearing concluded with trustees thanking Montgomery and staff for the work. The board adjourned the public hearing at 5:44 p.m. and said it would take a short break before the regular voting meeting.