Every school district in southern Denton County passed in the Texas Education Agency’s latest Financial Integrity Ratings.
It’s a trend that has continued for the last few years.
Northwest ISD and Denton ISD both earned an “A” rating for the 24th consecutive year, scoring 98 points each.
“The result extends the district’s record to 24 consecutive years at the state’s highest financial accountability mark, a distinction reserved for districts that can document disciplined, transparent stewardship of public funds year after year, without exception,” said Denton ISD in a press release. “This recognition underscores Denton ISD’s commitment to responsible fiscal stewardship – one of the compass points guiding the district’s work on behalf of students, staff and taxpayers. Reaching that mark is a demanding process.”
Argyle also received an “A” rating with a score of 92, but Lewisville ISD scored the best out of the four local districts with a perfect 100.
According to the TEA scoring system, a passing score is 70 or above. Any score 90 or above is considered “Superior Achievement.”
It’s a long time coming for Lewisville ISD, which appealed the TEA’s rating of the district in 2022 after receiving an “F” grade.
Other than that slip-up, which LISD said was due to a series of clerical errors, southern Denton County districts have performed well in the state’s rating system.
Each district is judged on a series of criteria pulled from its annual financial report with the goal of examining the accuracy and timeliness of the data submitted to the state, administrative cost ratios, debt management, the strength of the fund balance and whether an external auditor identified any material weakness in internal controls.
“A rating like this is earned in daily decisions long before it is ever announced,” said Denont ISD Superintendent Dr. Susannah O’Bara. “Our Board of Trustees and our financial services team hold themselves to a standard that goes beyond what the state asks of us, and our students feel the difference in the teachers we are able to keep, the programs we are able to sustain, and the confidence our community can have in how its tax dollars are used.”
Denton ISD’s rating follows the district’s adoption of a balanced budget for the 2026-2027 school year built on $380.3 million in projected revenue and $380.0 million in expenditures for a projected surplus of $325,542.
The district, along with Argyle ISD and Northwest ISD, also implemented teacher and staff raises for the recently-started school year.
To see the full ratings and scoring criteria, visit the FIRST website.
School FIRST was created by Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature and later amended under House Bill 5 of the 83rd Texas Legislature.
According to Denton ISD, because Texas school finance is unusually complex, the system was designed both to reinforce sound financial management in public schools and to give taxpayers a clear, comparable measure of how their local district is performing.
