Public schools aren't just the main educational institutions in a community; they are also taxing entities and major employers.
This means that the financial health of a school district can have serious implications for a community. According to the Texas Education Agency, most Coastal Bend school districts achieved "superior achievement" in new financial ratings released in August based on the 2024-25 school year.
The School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas assesses financial management practices, including whether school districts have enough saved in fund balances to weather emergencies and whether spending is outpacing savings.
On Aug. 19, Gov. Greg Abbott requested the Texas Comptroller's Office to formally review school district
finances at certain districts. Abbott specifically pointed to "accelerating administrative bloat" in a news release announcing the investigations.
Typically, one of the TEA's FIRST ratings indicators would have provided at least preliminary information on this subject. Historically, one indicator specifically measured administrative cost ratios.
However, the Texas Education Agency paused this indicator this year.
But other indicators that were measured and reported in the 2025-26 FIRST ratings provide useful information on local school financial health.
Here's how Coastal Bend schools scored:
A or Superior Achievement
- Agua Dulce ISD
- Alice ISD
- Aransas Pass ISD
- Banquete ISD
- Beeville ISD
- Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco ISD
- Brooks County ISD
- Calallen ISD
- Corpus Christi ISD
- Driscoll ISD
- Flour Bluff ISD
- Freer ISD
- George West ISD
- Gregory-Portland ISD
- Ingleside ISD
- Kenedy County Wide CSD
- Kingsville ISD
- La Gloria ISD
- London ISD
- Mathis ISD
- McMullen County ISD
- Orange Grove ISD
- Pawnee ISD
- Pettus ISD
- Ramirez CSD
- Ricardo ISD
- Riviera ISD
- Robstown ISD
- Rockport-Fulton ISD
- San Diego ISD
- Santa Getrudis ISD
- Sinton ISD
- Taft ISD
- Three Rivers ISD
B or Above Standard Achievement
- Benavides ISD
- Bishop CISD
- Odem-Edroy ISD
- Port Aransas ISD
- Premont ISD
C or Meets Standard Achievement
- West Oso ISD
F or Substandard Achievement
- Skidmore-Tynan ISD
- Tuloso-Midway ISD
Tuloso-Midway Independent School District's FIRST rating, currently an F, is under appeal review. Tuloso-Midway Superintendent Steve Van Matre told the Caller-Times that the rating is due to a clerical error by the district's auditors. A yes-or-no question was answered incorrectly.
Van Matre said in an email that he expects the appeal will be a successful, returning the district's rating to an A indicating financial health.
Skidmore-Tynan Independent School District's FIRST ratings report states that a complete annual financial report was not submitted to the TEA by the deadline.
Skidmore-Tynan ISD Superintendent Richard Waterhouse said in a statement that the district had a good year financially — and previously had Superior Achievement ratings for five consecutive years — but that certain errors can cause an automatic failing score despite other positive indicators. Waterhouse said district staff has taken “aggressive measures” to improve its training and business practices.
West Oso Independent School District earned a C, which means it is one of the lower-scoring districts in the area. The district's summary indicates the district only had enough cash on hand to last about 14 days based on the 2024-25 school year. The acceptable threshold is 60 days.
This means that if there was a disaster like a hurricane or if the district's cash flow was interrupted, it would not be able to continue operating for long.
Corpus Christi Independent School District had about 122 days of cash on hand based on the 2024-25 school year.
Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Is your school close to broke? See Coastal Bend school financial grades
