WISD receives Superior FIRST rating

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said there is no such thing as perfection, but that by striving for perfection, one can achieve excellence. 

Luckily for Weatherford ISD, it is adhering to that premise. 

At the Nov. 13 board of trustees meeting, trustees heard from Lori Boswell, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations, about the district’s Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) 2022-2023 rating before holding the state-required public hearing on the report. 

The district achieved a score of 98, just two shy of a perfect 100, and a rating of “A = Superior Achievement.” Scores are like a grading scale where an A is 90-100, B is 80-89, C is 70-79 and anything below that is substandard. 

The rating is assigned by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and uses audited financial information for the 2021-2022 school year. 

“There were 20 indicators this year,” Boswell said, adding that the categories to determine the score are different each year. 

Weatherford missed achieving a perfect score due to the ratio of its long-term liabilities to total assets only being scored an 8 instead of a 10. 

“We are improving on that each year, and hopefully by next year we’ll get there,” Boswell said. 

In 2001, the 77th Texas Legislature created FIRST to help keep school districts accountable for management of financial resources and to ensure most funds are used directly for instructional purposes. Weatherford has achieved a score of 90 or higher for more than 20 years.

The public hearing closed with no one commenting. 

Also at the meeting, trustees voted on a procurement method for HVAC system upgrades needed at Wright Elementary. Superintendent Dr. Beau Rees said the district recommended a Competitive Sealed Proposal (CSP). 

Rees explained the project would not be slated to be substantially completed until August of 2025, mostly due to parts availability having long lead times, and likely will cost around $2 million. 

Several board members expressed concern about the long wait and asked whether the other HVAC needs at several campuses needed to be started sooner rather than later. Rees said that a timeline of next projects could be brought forward to trustees early next year and Board President Mike Guest suggested a facilities planning workshop might be in order, as well as a financial planning workshop, to help hash out a plan. 

Trustees approved using the CSP. 

Additionally, board
members: 

Approved the purchase of an additional two years of STEMscopes Math to be used in grades K-5. WISD has seen improvements in STAAR scores and other areas since inception a few years ago.

Got a glimpse of the proposed new Blue Belles uniforms they will be voting on at the December meeting. Black has been removed from all the uniforms and new hats and winter jackets are silver. 

Approved new course offerings for the 2024-2025 school year. Most of the changes are in name only so the district can take advantage of grants and funding. 

The WISD board meets again on Dec. 11.