Alice ISD reported a “Superior” rating under the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) at a public hearing on Dec. 15, 2025, with a numerical score of 96, presenter Melissa Sanchez said. The report, required by the Texas Education Agency, reviewed 21 indicators of financial health covering audits, cash flow, debt, budgeting and financial stability.

Sanchez told the Board of Trustees that the district passed all four critical FIRST indicators and earned full or near-full points on the majority of solvency and competency measures. "LSISD received the highest rating of superior with a letter grade of A and numerical score of 96," she said. The district received an unmodified auditor opinion on its annual financial report, which Sanchez described as "a clean audit with no material issues."

The presentation itemized individual indicators. Sanchez highlighted that the district had 165 days of cash on hand in the general fund, exceeding the 75-day threshold and earning the full points for that measure: "We had 165 days of cash on hand." She also said the district’s general fund revenues exceeded expenditures (excluding facilities, acquisition and construction), which produced full points for that indicator. On the metric comparing long-term liabilities to total assets the district posted a ratio of about 0.4445 and received full points. By contrast, the correlation between future debt requirements and assessed property values produced a slightly reduced score (about 8 of 10 points) because the district’s ratio was reported near 4.60–4.69.

Sanchez reported the district’s administrative cost ratio was 12.66%, above the 11.51% threshold, which yielded 8 of 10 points on that indicator. On enrollment projections the district reported a projection of 3,920 students versus an actual 3,902, earning the district full points for projection accuracy. Data reported to TEA’s systems matched the district’s AFR with no variances exceeding the threshold, Sanchez said.

On disclosures, Sanchez said required items such as the superintendent’s contract, reimbursements to board members, outside compensation for executive officers, gifts and business transactions were reviewed and that no reportable items were found for the period under review. Sanchez also noted the AFR had been submitted on Jan. 23, 2025, in compliance with the reporting deadline and that a detailed book with calculations and indicator definitions was available for board review.

Board members commended the business office and CFO’s office for sustained strong performance and asked questions about specific metrics and the calculations; Sanchez pointed trustees to the detailed documentation for further review. The board took no formal vote on the FIRST report. The meeting was adjourned at 5:52 a.m.