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Courtesy Roberto Treviño,

 For the seventh year in a row Laredo Independent School District received a rating of “Superior Achievement” under the Financial Integrity Rating System (FIRST), the state’s finance accountability rating system for fiscal year 2007-2008. The Superior Achievement rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Laredo ISD’s financial management and reporting system.

 The financial accountability system for Texas public school districts are developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999 and Senate Bill 218 of the 77th Legislature in 2001. The primary goal of School FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school district’s financial resources. This goal is now more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with the Texas’ school finance system.

 “We are very pleased with Laredo ISD’s Schools FIRST rating as it shows that our district is making the most of our taxpayers’ dollars,” said Laredo ISD Superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson. “This rating shows that LISD’s schools are accountable not only for student learning, but also for achieving these results cost-effectively and efficiently. I especially want to congratulate Chief Financial Officer Alvaro Perez and the Finance Department for all their hard work.”

 The School FIRST accountability rating system assigns one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being “Superior Achievement,” followed by “Above Standard Achievement,” “Standard Achievement,” and “Substandard Achievement. Districts with serious data quality problems may receive the additional rating of “Suspend – Data Quality.” Districts that receive the “Substandard Achievement” or “Suspended – Data Quality” ratings under School FIRST must file a corrective action plan with the Texas Education Agency.

Laredo ISD’s rating under School FIRST for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2008 is “Superior Achievement.” The school district’s School FIRST rating is based upon an analysis of staff and student data reported for the 2007-2008 school year, including financial data for the 2008 fiscal year. For Laredo Independent School District, the fiscal period was September 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008.

 In addition to the Superior FIRST rating, Laredo ISD has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the Distinguished Budget Presentation award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada.