All of the Ranch Cities districts earned passing grades on every accountability measure the state has released in August.
Tioga ISD came away with the area's highest overall accountability rating—a 92—and its first passing grade on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas—a 70—in half a decade.
In the spring, Commissioner Mike Morath had told the district it needed to show overall improvement to be accredited.
'He suspected then that we would handle the academics part,' Superintendent Josh Ballinger said. 'We knew that it was going to be close on the FIRST rating. ... Thankfully, that reprieve was given to us to finish up this past school year, and the rest is kind of history.'' Tioga ISD's accountability score improved from an 85, which it earned in both the 2023-24 ratings and the 202425 ratings.
'That's 100% our students and staff working hard and knowing that we needed to prove ourselves not only to the Tioga community and our providing students with an excellent education, but also some friends from TEA and the extra microscope ... that's been put on us,' Ballinger said.
The district showed improvement in student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps.
'We should have a little extra spring in our step for the accomplishment, not be satisfied and know that there are still areas we can improve, and we're going to work on those,' Ball- inger said. 'And now the job is ... maintain the passing on the FIRST rating and always improve the academic side. That's why we're all here.'
Tioga ISD is considered one campus by the Texas Education Agency, so the district average accounts for the Early Childhood Development Center, Tioga Elementary School, Tioga Middle School and Tioga High School.
The Tioga School earned a distinction for academic achievement in science.
Based on the TEA data, Tioga ISD had an average ratio of 14 students per teacher with all of the teachers having more than one year of experience for the 2025-26 school year.
On Aug. 7, the district got the good news about its passing FIRST rating.
A passing grade for the 2025-26 FIRST rating, announced on Aug. 7, was a 70.
Tioga did not meet the ceiling in regard to the total net position in the governmental activities column greater than zero, which meant it could score no higher than a 78.
The district did not get full marks in the category related to days of cash on hand or the ratio of current assets to current liabilities.
It also fell short in the categories of future debt and the district's assessed property value as well as whether the average daily attendance was within the projection submitted to TEA.
Tioga ISD did not meet the ceiling related to the district receiving an adjusted repayment schedule for more than one fiscal year for an over-allocation of Foundation School Program funding.
'Until we can get some of those areas reshuffled from the [Maintenance and Operations] side to the [debt service] side, which is what we've been preaching for years, some of those areas are going to be really tough to make ... better on the financial rating side of things,' Ballinger said. 'Doesn't mean we're going to lose hope. We haven't done that in four years.'
Pilot Point ISD earned a 77 overall, holding steady from the 2024-25 school year, and staying in the middle of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 scores.
The district stayed consistent, too, in student achievement and school progress, with a one-point increase in the closing the gaps measure.
On the campus level, Pilot Point High School notched the best grade for the district with an 83.
Pilot Point Selz Middle School earned a 75, with Pilot Point Elementary School getting a 70.
The Early Childhood Center's score is tied to the district's 77.
On the financial side, the district earned a 98 on the FIRST rating, only missing points in the indicator comparing current assets—$20,786,219— to current liabilities—$ 7,369,336—to handle short-term debt. PPISD has consistently had superior FIRST ratings for over a decade.
Aubrey ISD also recorded a 77 overall, down from an 80 for the 2024-25 school year, an 81 for 2023-24 and an 83 in 2022-23.
Its student achievement rating held steady at 79, but school progress declined to 67 from 74, and closing the gaps dropped from 82 to 72.
McNabb Middle School was the top-scoring campus with an 84, Aubrey High School earning an 83 and Brockett Elementary scoring an 80.
Fuller Elementary earned a 74, and Owens Middle School scored a 70 in its inaugural year.
Both West Elementary and Monaco Elementary notched Ds, with scores of 69 and 68, respectively.
The district earned a 92 on its FIRST rating, losing points only in the measure comparing the correlation of future debt requirements—$ 429,169,272— and the district's assessed property value—$3,088,370,171.
AISD, like PPISD, has maintained a superior FIRST rating for over a decade.
Graphic Courtesy of TEA
