GISD receives A rating from FIRST

The Gonzales Independent School District received good news at the Monday, Nov. 14, GISD school board meeting.

GISD Chief Financial Officer Amanda Smith announced to the board that the school district received an A rating from the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST).

“This is the 20th year for school FIRST and the rating for this year was determined using data from our 2020-2021 fiscal year and I am pleased to report that once again Gonzales ISD has received the top rating available under the accountability system which is an A for superior achievement,” Smith said.

The primary goal for FIRST is to ensure quality financial management practices and improve the performance in the management of resources of the school district, according to Smith.

“We're gonna continue to ensure that we have excellent financial management in all areas, not just those that are measured by school first, and we're extremely pleased with our A rating obviously,” Smith said. “We are blessed with a wonderful team at the district and we think our school board for their amazing leadership.”

In other news, the board approved roof repairs for Gonzales Junior High School. GISD Director of Operations Gene Kridler said the district needed the repairs to the roof of the junior high science wing.

“This has kind of been a process for us. We've started I started this last spring to try to get this done and we've finally been able to move forward so I would like to get approval to do that,” Kridler said.

The board approved, 4-0, the junior high roof repairs for $100,441, with a 15-year warranty; Sandra Gorden and Josie Smith-Wright were not in attendance for Monday’s meeting.

The board also approved a resolution and lease of a storage building and specific area located at Fair Street on the east side of the Gonzales Elementary School campus.

The next schedule school board meeting is set for Monday, Dec. 12.