Thomas Ratliff P.O. Box 232 Mt. Pleasant, TX 75456 State Board of Education Vice-Chairman tel: (903) 717-1190 www.thomasratliff.com FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CHARTERS – PART 2 Previously, I released some information about superintendent salaries for charter schools compared to salaries for superintendents of ISDs across Texas. Due to the overwhelming response, I offer Part 2 to my financial comparisons between ISDs and charter schools in Texas. Texas public schools (both ISDs and Charter Schools) are measured by something called the “FIRST” ratings. This stands for “Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas” and it was developed and implemented and is now overseen by the Texas Education Agency. What does this mean? It is a way for the State of Texas to monitor how school districts spend their money to ensure maximum utilization of state and local financial resources. If you want to see the numbers for yourself, you can go to the following TEA websites: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3864 - public schools http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=6491 - charter schools The FIRST rating system has 19 different criteria for ranking the “integrity” of a school district’s finances. These criteria range from asset balance, default on debt, the ratio of liabilities to assets, debt related expenses, ratio of students to teachers, ratio of students to total staff, etc. I offer the following highlights from the 2011-12 school year FIRST ratings: # 3 14 15 16 Public Schools (ISDs) Pass Fail 100.0% 0.0% 99.8% 0.2% 92.7% 7.3% 95.7% 4.3% Charter Schools Pass Fail 98.0% 2.0% 43.2% 56.3% 91.6% 8.4% 85.3% 14.7% legend 3 Default on debt 14 Administrative Cost Ratio 15 Ratio of Students to Teachers 16 Ratio of Students to Total Staff This means 56% of charter schools spent MORE on “administrative costs” than the state threshold (FAIL), while 99.8% of ISDs spent LESS than the threshold (PASS). Not printed or mailed at state expense Fiscal Accountability – Part 2 Page 2 Just in case you think I’m only listing those criteria where ISDs compare well to charter schools, let me point out that ISDs outrank charter schools on 16 of the 19 criteria. The last comparison I would like to bring to your attention is the overall pass/fail rates for the FIRST system. Texans love a simple, easy to understand rating system for our schools. We rank our academic achievement with an A-F rating and we rank the financial integrity with a pass/fail rating. So, here you go. Pass/Fail FIRST rating Pass Fail ISDs 98.6% 1.4% Charter 85.8% 13.2% This chart indicates that approximately 99% of ISDs PASSED the state’s FIRST rating, while 13% of charter schools FAILED the rating for financial integrity. When you listen to elected officials or other interest groups compare charter schools to ISDs, it’s important to pull back the curtain and look at ALL of the information for comparison. I hope you find this information helpful and enlightening. Not printed or mailed at state expense