FAST Video Library
FAST Examines Academic
Performance and School Spending
(December 2010)
Public education spending consumes a large and expanding share of state and local revenues. Tom Currah, Senior Advisor, Data Analysis, outlines how the Comptroller’s office rated Texas public schools’ academic performance relative to their spending.
Use the FAST Tool Your Way
(December 2010)
The online FAST reporting tools contain vast amounts of academic and financial data for Texas public schools. Beth Hallmark from the Comptroller’s Data Services Division says the powerful tools can be used to generate custom reports looking at individual districts and schools or comparing districts from across Texas across common measures.
Case Study Videos
Region 17 ESC (May 2012)
Dr. Kyle Wargo, executive director of the Texas Region 17 Education Service Center in Lubbock, explains how schools in the surrounding High Plains area worked together to build a wireless, high-speed Internet network.
Friendswood ISD (January 2012)
Friendswood Independent School District achieved the top five-star rating in the 2011 Financial Allocation Study of Texas compiled by the Comptroller of Public Accounts (www.fastexas.org). Superintendent Trish Hanks describes how sharing facilities has helped the school district save on construction and infrastructure costs and expanded recreation facilities for Friendswood residents.
Pearland ISD (January 2012)
Pearland Independent School District achieved the top five-star rating in the 2011 Financial Allocation Study of Texas compiled by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. Superintendent John Kelly and school board trustee Virgil Gant explain that technology virtualization — using remote workstations to access centrally located software — has permitted technology to be utilized district-wide for less cost than buying for individual campuses.
Mesquite ISD (November 2011)
In the past five years, Mesquite ISD has emphasized energy efficiency, replacing incandescent bulbs with energy-conserving fluorescents, which cut energy costs 10 percent. Learn other ways Mesquite ISD, recognized as a 2011 Texas Honor Circle district, has achieved quantifiable savings through its conservation and efficiency program. Read more »
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (October 2011)
Associate Superintendent Pam Wells explains how the fast-growing Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Houston has saved money building 33 new campuses in a decade by reusing designs that work. Cy-Fair achieved the top five-star rating in the 2011 Financial Allocation Study of Texas compiled by the Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Cedar Hill ISD (December 2010)
The Cedar Hill Independent School District developed an innovative plan to save construction and operational costs. This video shows how district and city officials found common ground to build on — quite literally.
