TEA gives Harmony Public Schools an A for fiscal responsibility

Sept. 4 – TEA announced that all seven Harmony Public Schools districts received an A+ rating of “Superior” in the Texas Education Agency’s annual FIRST financial accountability ratings.

Created by the 77th Texas Legislature in 2001, the Texas School Financial Integrity Rating System (FIRST) is designed to encourage public schools to better manage their financial resources and provide the highest possible allocation for direct educational purposes.

FIRST ratings are calculated using 15 financial indicators, including administrative cost expenditures, the accuracy of financial information a district or charter submits to the TEA, and financial weaknesses or significant weaknesses in internal controls identified by an external auditor.

Harmony’s district-based scores are as follows:

— Harmony Public Schools-Central Texas (Austin, Pflugerville, Cedar Park): 100

— Harmony Public Schools-Houston North (Houston, Bryan, Cypress, North Katy): 100

— Harmony Public Schools-Houston South (Houston): 96

— Harmony Public Schools-Houston West (Houston, South Katy, Sugar Land, Beaumont): 100

— Harmony Public Schools-North Texas Greater DFW, Waco): 96

— Harmony Public Schools-South Texas (San Antonio, Laredo, Brownsville): 96

— Harmony Public Schools-West Texas (El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa): 100

Harmony implements a number of financial safeguards as part of its regular operations to ensure the effective, efficient and ethical use of all public funds entrusted to it. These include regular independent financial audits by third-party accounting firms and regular participation in the purchasing process with the Texas Association of School Business Officers (TASBO).

In January 2024, Harmony became the first Texas charter school to earn TASBO’s prestigious Financial Management Excellence Award. Harmony was also the first public charter school to earn TASBO’s Merit Award for Purchasing Operations.