Notice of Deadline to File Applications for Place on the Ballot

At the November meeting of the Grand Prairie Independent School District Board of Trustees, GPISD officials formally announced that the District received a rating of “A” for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ School FIRST financial accountability rating system. The “Superior Achievement” rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of GPISD’s financial management and reporting system.

“We are extremely proud of our School FIRST rating,” said Superintendent of Schools Linda Ellis. “It shows that our district continues to make financial decisions that are guided by our main goal which is student success. We are accountable not only for student learning, but also for being good stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars.”

About School FIRST:

The School FIRST (Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999 and amendments under House Bill 5, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013. The primary goal of School FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.

The Texas Education Agency assigns one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being “A” for “Superior Achievement,” followed by “B” for “Above-Standard Achievement,” “C” for “Standard Achievement” and “F” for At “Substandard Achievement.”

At a called meeting on August 24, 2023, the GPISD Board of Trustees voted to adopt the 2023-2024 budget. The Board also took action to set the tax rate for 2023-2024 at $1.09505 per $100 of valuation. This is a decrease of just over 21 cents from last year ($0.21195).

This overall tax rate is made up of two parts:

• $0.75750 for the purpose of maintenance and operations
• $0.33755 for the purpose of payment of principal and interest on debts

Including this year’s tax rate decrease, the GPISD Board of Trustees has lowered the tax rate almost 50 cents ($0.49995) over a five-year period.

“I’m extremely proud of the hard work put in by our Business Operations department,” said Board President Emily Liles. “Our staff has put us in a position to lower the tax rate each year for the past five years.”

For more information, please visit the District’s Financial Transparency page.

August 25, 2023

As a matter of policy, the district does not comment on personnel matters, or issues pertaining to employment. We can confirm any allegation of misconduct by teachers in our classrooms is taken seriously, investigated fully, and followed by the appropriate action if necessary. As it relates to the incident in question, this incident was fully investigated internally and by CPS and the matter is considered resolved. Due to ongoing litigation, there will be no further comment on this matter.

The Grand Prairie Independent School District received a Superior rating for 2021-2022 under Texas’ School FIRST financial accountability rating system. This rating system measures the quality of a school district’s financial management and reporting system.

“We are extremely proud to report this rating to our community,” said Superintendent of Schools Linda Ellis. “It demonstrates our commitment to fiscal responsibility and stability.”

The 2021-2022 School FIRST rating is based on financial data for the fiscal period that ended August 31, 2021.

House Bill 3, (88th Texas Legislature) requires the Texas School Safety Center, in collaboration with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), to provide school districts information and other resources regarding the safe storage of firearms, including information on section 46.13 of the Texas Penal Code, for distribution to parents/guardians and community.  

The Texas DPS has created a public relations campaign – Keep ’Em Safe Texas – that offers free downloadable resources to promote safe gun storage. Below you will find links to resources in English and Spanish.   

• Program Overview 8.5 × 11 Flyer: English / Spanish 
• 12 × 18 Poster: English / Spanish 
• How to Talk to Others About Gun Safety 8.5 × 11 Flyer: English / Spanish 
• Ways to Safely Store Guns (Devices) 8.5 × 11 Flyer: English / Spanish

Section 37.222 - Resources On Safe Firearm Storage(a) The center, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety, shall provide to each school district and open-enrollment charter school information and other resources regarding the safe storage of firearms for distribution by the district or school under Subsection (b), including information on:(1) the offense under Section 46.13, Penal Code; and(2) ways in which parents and guardians can effectively prevent children from accessing firearms.(b) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school shall provide the information and other resources described under Subsection (a) to the parent or guardian of each student enrolled in the district or school.

Tex. Educ. Code § 37.222

Added by Acts 2023, Texas Acts of the 88th Leg.- Regular Session, ch. 896,Sec. 19, eff. 9/1/2023