Castleberry Independent School District earned an A — Superior Achievement rating in the 2025-2026 Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, or School FIRST, improving its overall score from 74 to 94. Chief Financial Officer William Wooten presented the results during a public hearing Sept. 14.

The 20-point increase moves the district from a C — Meets Standard Achievement in the previous rating year to the highest rating classification available under the state system. Castleberry ISD received 94 out of a possible 100 points.

School FIRST is the Texas Education Agency's financial accountability system for public school districts. The system evaluates the quality of districts' financial management practices and is intended to encourage effective management of financial resources while maximizing funding available for instructional purposes.

The 2025-2026 ratings are based on financial data from fiscal year 2025 and evaluate districts across 21 financial indicators related to areas including financial solvency, cash and liquidity, debt, internal controls, financial reporting and transparency.

Castleberry ISD's largest year-over-year improvements came in three financial measures:

• Cash on hand: increased from 2 to 8 points.
• Liquidity: increased from 4 to 10 points.
• General fund revenues compared with expenditures: increased from 0 to 10 points.

Together, those measures accounted for 22 additional points compared with the previous year, while other indicators changed within the overall calculation.

The district also continued to meet key financial reporting, compliance and internal control measures. Its annual financial report received an unmodified audit opinion, required government payments were made on time, and the district met requirements related to financial data reporting, internal controls and material compliance.

School FIRST is intended to provide additional transparency to taxpayers, trustees and other stakeholders while supporting meaningful financial oversight and improvement.

At its Sept. 14 meeting, the Castleberry ISD Board of Education received the district’s annual School FIRST financial management report and held the required public hearing regarding the district’s 2025-2026 financial accountability rating.