Howe ISD did not drop a single point on the Texas Education Agency's yearly check of school district finances.
TEA released its final 2025-26 ratings Monday under FIRST, the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. Howe ISD scored 100 out of 100 and kept its A, or Superior Achievement, rating. The district also scored 100 in the 2024-25 ratings, according to its records on TEA's FIRST site.
This year's rating is built on the annual financial report the district filed for its 2025 fiscal year, covering the 2024-25 school year.
What the state checks
FIRST uses 21 indicators. Some are pass-fail: whether the district filed its audited report on time, whether auditors gave an unmodified opinion, whether it paid its debts on schedule and whether it made timely payments to the Teacher Retirement System, the IRS and other agencies. Failing any of the first four critical indicators means an automatic F.
Others are scored. Howe ISD received the maximum on each of them, including:
- days of cash on hand in the general fund
- the ratio of current assets to current liabilities
- general fund revenue covering operating spending
- how closely budgeted revenue matched actual revenue over three years
- long-term liabilities compared with total assets
- future debt payments compared with the district's taxable property value
- attendance compared with the district's own projection
- posting required financial information on its website
