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Driving More of Every Education Dollar into the Classroom

When Carole Keeton Strayhorn was sworn into office in 1999 as Texas Comptroller she set ten principles for Texas in the 21st Century, and the first three are education related. One of those was to drive more of every education dollar directly into the classroom with the teachers and students, where it belongs. The Texas School Performance Review (TSPR), directed by Comptroller Strayhorn, is the nation's first and leading state-level program that is designed to improve the management and finances of individual public school districts. Since its inception in 1991, TSPR has conducted nearly 100 audits of public school districts and recommended net savings totaling three quarters of a billion dollars. This number is continually growing since the Comptroller and the Texas Legislature have directed TSPR to conduct 20 reviews each year. In each review, the TSPR team identifies a district's administrative, organizational and financial problems and recommends ways to cut costs, increase revenues, reduce overhead, streamline operations and improve the delivery of educational services.

Comptroller Strayhorn's role
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn is the education watchdog for the people of Texas. A mother, grandmother, former public schoolteacher and school board president, she has made education her number one priority. The Comptroller, noting that only 51 cents of every education dollar goes into instruction, announced in early 1999 that TSPR would redouble its efforts to deliver more of every education dollar into classrooms--with the teachers and students--where it belongs. Comptroller Strayhorn instructed the TSPR staff to share exemplary programs and key recommendations that were collected in past reviews with school districts statewide. These best practices can be found on the A+ Ideas for Managing Schools (AIMS) database. The Comptroller also said that TSPR would encourage districts to apply the "Yellow Pages" test to identify opportunities to contract for certain services and projects. In her view, districts should do no job if a business in the Yellow Pages can do it better and at a lower cost.

Performance, not financial, reviews
A TSPR review is more than a traditional financial audit. TSPR examines a district's operations in a dozen vital areas, including:

  • organization and management,
  • educational service delivery,
  • personnel management,
  • community involvement,
  • facilities use and management,
  • financial management,
  • asset and risk management,
  • purchasing and warehousing functions,
  • computers and technology,
  • food services,
  • transportation, and
  • safety and security.

After the Comptroller chooses to conduct a review or accepts a district's invitation, TSPR begins interviews, holds town hall meetings and focus group sessions with community leaders, school organizations, parents, school administrators, teachers, district personnel and students to gauge community attitudes and expectations.

Once the public input phase is complete, the TSPR team begins its analysis of the district's operations. Comptroller personnel and consultants spend several weeks in the district, talking to front-line personnel in every area. Team members collect detailed information on how each district process works--or falls short. TSPR also identifies innovative programs and practices and documents them for other districts to consider. Ultimately, TSPR's findings, commendations, recommendations and implementation strategies are compiled in a comprehensive report that is available to interested members of the local community. Each report also is posted on the Comptroller's Web site <www. window. state. tx. us> for easy access.

Follow-up assistance
Once a review is delivered, TSPR staff is available to the district to elaborate on recommendations and offer guidance toward implementation. In addition, the TSPR team returns to each reviewed district 12-18 months later to prepare and release a progress report on the district's implementation of recommendations. Comptroller Strayhorn shares the results of each follow-up review with the local community, and with taxpayers and school districts statewide. While each district is unique, the Comptroller has found that the statewide distribution of progress reports helps districts with similar challenges share innovative solutions.

Dollar savings, student performance
Texas school districts that have had more than a year to implement TSPR recommendations have voluntarily implemented 90 percent of those recommendations. For every taxpayer dollar invested in contracts to conduct these reviews, TSPR is identifying an average of $60 in net savings. In addition, school districts that TSPR has reviewed have reported improved student scores on the state-mandated Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). Plus, in the majority of districts reviewed, student improvement on the TAAS exceeded state average gains.


Commonly asked questions and answers about TSPR

Why can the Comptroller conduct performance reviews of school districts?
State law (Section 403. 020 of the Government Code) authorizes the Comptroller to periodically review the effectiveness and efficiency of the budgets and operations of school districts.
What is the Comptroller's role in reviewing a district?
The Comptroller oversees the TSPR staff, whose members work side-by-side with school district staff and expert consultants to identify commendable practices and recommend concrete improvements. The Comptroller also employs education specialists who monitor public education and offer help to the TSPR team in addressing vital issues. At Comptroller Strayhorn's direction, consultants and the TSPR team work with each district under review to:
  • ensure that students and teachers receive maximum support and resources needed to succeed;
  • identify innovative ways of addressing specific management challenges;
  • ensure that the district's administration operates efficiently and with a focus on classroom needs;
  • develop strategies for ensuring that the district constantly improves programs;
  • understand links between different operational areas of the district and determine ways to improve day-to-day efficiency;
  • challenge any process, procedure, program or policy that impedes instruction and recommend ways to reduce or eliminate obstacles; and
  • put goods and services to the "Yellow Pages" test--government should do no job if a business in the Yellow Pages can do it better and at a lower cost.
Does a school district have to pay for TSPR's consulting services during a review?
The Comptroller's budget pays for most of the cost of the reviews. A 1999 state law, however, sponsored by Representative Scott Hochberg of Houston enables a school district to initiate a TSPR review by majority vote of its school board. A district contributes only if a review is initiated by a majority vote of its board and only after the review is accepted by the Comptroller and work has begun. When the Texas Comptroller selects a district for review without the benefit of a board request, the state pays the full cost. Every reviewed district absorbs some internal costs during a TSPR review. In the past, most districts reported minimal out-of-pocket expenditures for items such as copying and mailing expenses and telephone and fax calls. A district does not need to hire additional staff to assist the TSPR team during a review. The review team draws upon the time and expertise of district administrators and staff, usually including a liaison whom the district superintendent designates.
How are school districts selected for performance reviews?
Comptroller Strayhorn targets districts that are performing poorly academically or financially, and/or where a TSPR review will benefit the greatest number of students. A district is considered to be performing poorly in academics upon a finding of below average student scores on the state's assessment tests. TSPR defines a financially poorly performing district as one with a lower than appropriate fund balance, a high property tax rate and low staff to student ratios in comparison to state averages in these areas. In sum, TSPR targets the school districts and children who need help the most. Anyone may submit a request to the Comptroller for a review. And, as she makes her selections, all of the requests on file are given careful consideration. Requests should be mailed to:
Carole Keeton Strayhorn
Texas Comptroller
Post Office Box 13528
Austin, Texas 78711-3528
How long after a request is made does it take to start a review?
The length of time before a review starts varies depending on available resources and the Comptroller's desire to review those Texas school districts most in need of outside attention. The Comptroller has on file more than 100 district requests for reviews. In the past, TSPR was able to conduct about five reviews a year, depending on the size of reviewed districts. Reviews requested by a majority vote of the board, and where the district has agreed to pay 25 percent of the cost, are typically given a higher priority, provided Comptroller resources are available at the time of the request.
How many reviews are conducted each year?
In 1999, the Legislature and Comptroller Strayhorn dedicated additional funding to the school performance reviews, and increased the number of reviews conducted each year to 20. Prior to this time only about three or four reviews were typically conducted in a single year.
How long does a review take?
A typical review takes five to seven months to complete. The review team, which is comprised of consultants and Comptroller employees, spends two to three weeks in the district at the beginning of the review. Obviously, less time is required to review a very small district and much more time may be required for a very large district, like Houston or Dallas. Once the on-site work is complete, most follow-up questions are handled by e-mail, telephone, fax or mail.
How does a TSPR team initially gather detailed information on a district?
Once the Comptroller decides to review a district and outside consultants have been selected through a competitive bid process, the review team analyzes data that is collected annually from the district by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). About two months before a review formally starts, TSPR also asks the district to provide basic information on the district's operations, such as budget and accounting reports and policies and procedures. Questions often asked when TSPR compares a district under review to other Texas districts include:
  • To what districts does the district under review typically compare itself? Are regional and state averages comparable? Why or why not?
  • Are the published standards that have been established for the allocation of district employees equitable and tied to reasonable workload measures? For example, are custodians hired based on square footage? Is the allocation of classroom space tied to student enrollment? Are teachers and teacher aides hired based on predetermined class types and sizes? Are security guards placed on campuses based on the number of reported incidents, campus size or enrollment?
  • Are equipment and supplies allocated equitably, based on accepted industry standards?
  • Are policies and procedures for the allocation of people, equipment and other resources regularly reviewed and updated?
TSPR developed a set of audit protocols that detail all of the areas of a district's operations that will be reviewed. These protocols are available on the AIMS Database.
What happens when a review team comes to a district?
Each review begins with public forums, detailed interviews and focus group discussions with community leaders, school organizations, parents, school administrators, teachers and students. Flyers are sent home with students to encourage calls to the Comptroller's toll-free hotline at 1-800-531-5441, extension 5-3676. In each case, individuals are asked to offer suggestions for improving district operations. TSPR's goal is a thorough understanding of community expectations before the review team reaches substantive findings and recommendations. The TSPR team tries to avoid interference with the day-to-day operations of the district. Still, by visiting individual campuses and observing teachers, students, administrators and other staff in action, each review team devotes the necessary time to thoroughly communicate with the many staff who serve the students and the district. The TSPR team identifies issues of concern, but reserves judgment until a complete picture of the district has emerged. Before the review ends, each finding is shared with district officials, who have the opportunity to offer additional information or clarification.
How does TSPR formulate its recommendations and implementation strategies?
After all the facts have been gathered and shared with district officials, the TSPR team drafts recommendations for improvement based on findings from the methods of review described above. These recommendations are ideas from outside experts and TSPR-identified best practices. In each case, the district's overall operations are analyzed to ensure the review team's proposals will contribute to general improvement. If a district questions a recommendation after the report is released, the review team discusses the findings that led to the recommendation and encourages district officials to suggest their own preferred solutions. Sometimes a district finds a different way of achieving positive results, including dollar savings. TSPR supports such initiative.
How does TSPR develop and share district commendations?
In every review, TSPR has found innovative solutions to challenges that districts across the state often face. TSPR singles out commendable programs in each review, in case other districts should wish to replicate model programs. These best practices and exemplary models were combined with recommendations for improvement in each TSPR report. Comptroller Strayhorn also has directed that best practices and exemplary programs be shared quickly and systematically among all the state's school districts, and with any other party who requests such information. TSPR will serve as an active clearinghouse of the best and brightest ideas in Texas public education. Best practices identified in the original reviews of school districts are included in the Comptroller's best practices database, A+ Ideas for Managing Schools (AIMS).
How do school districts respond to performance reviews?
Across Texas, reviewed districts have implemented, on average, nine of every 10 recommendations. And while district officials report that reviews can be time-consuming and stressful, they also have found the results to be worth the effort. In progress reports, prepared cooperatively with the districts from one year to 18 months after a review is concluded, districts report that TSPR's efforts have saved taxpayers money. Teachers report increased job satisfaction in the wake of TSPR-inspired reforms, and school boards have noted improved relations with one another and with top administrators. Progress reports can be viewed at the Comptroller's Web site at: <www. window. state. tx. us> (Education page), and are shown alphabetically directly beneath the full report on a particular district.
How long does the Comptroller keep a review request on file?
Comptroller Strayhorn keeps requests for reviews indefinitely. In addition, districts occasionally send follow-up requests to the Comptroller to notify her that the district remains interested in a review.
What is the difference between a TSPR review and a District Effectiveness and Compliance (DEC) visit conducted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA)?
A TSPR review complements a DEC visit. The purpose of a DEC visit is to evaluate a district's efforts to improve student performance in special programs, with a focus on the decision-making and planning process as it relates to the quality of services provided for all students, including those in special programs. A DEC visit also reviews a district's compliance with state and federal requirements for special programs. A performance review looks at the operations and management of the district. When taken together, the findings of a DEC visit and a TSPR review will often help a district identify the relationship between operational and educational issues that may impact student performance.
What is the difference between a TSPR review and a district's required annual external audit?
The purpose of an external audit is for the district to receive an opinion on the accuracy of their financial statements. A TSPR review examines how the district is using its resources and makes recommendations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall operations of the district. For example, an external audit would confirm that a deficit fund balance existed in the food service budget – it was accurately reported. TSPR would look at why that situation existed and make recommendations directed at reducing or eliminating that deficit.
Can I get a copy of a district's review?
Yes. Anyone can read the reviews online.

To obtain a printed copy write us at:
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Texas School Performance Review
Post Office Box 13528
Austin, Texas 78711-3528
   or
call 1-800-531-5441, extension 5-3676.
There is a charge of $10 for copies of reports to offset printing and mailing costs.
Requesting a Texas School Performance Review
To request a Texas School Performance Review, individuals, district officials or superintendents, civic groups, or state legislators may send a written request to:
Carole Keeton Strayhorn
Texas Comptroller
Post Office Box 13528
Austin, Texas 78711-3528