Denison ISD has again earned the highest grade in Texas' financial accountability system for school districts, posting 98 points and an A for "Superior Achievement" in the 2025-26 School FIRST ratings.
The ratings, issued by the Texas Education Agency, grade how districts managed their money in the 2024-25 school year. A district needs 70 points to pass. TEA's summary page for Denison, included in the board packet, shows the rating was finalized Aug. 7.
The board of trustees is scheduled to accept the annual FIRST report at its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17. The district's cover memo says Denison ISD has held the top rating for each of the 23 previous years, which makes this the 24th straight A in the 24 years the system has existed.
Where the points came from
School FIRST, the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, starts with pass-or-fail checks.
Denison cleared all of them: its annual financial report reached TEA on time, its auditor issued a clean opinion, it was current on debt payments and on payments to the Teacher Retirement System, the Texas Workforce Commission and the IRS, and it passed the checks on net position, fund balance, data accuracy and internal controls.
On the scored measures, the district received full points for cash on hand, its ratio of current assets to liabilities, keeping spending within revenue, budgeting revenue accurately and long-term solvency. On the measure comparing future debt payments with the value of taxable property in the district, Denison received 8 of 10 points.
