Stafford Municipal School District is pleased to announce that the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its 2009/2010 budget.

The award represents a significant achievement by SMSD. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, SMSD had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity's budget serves as:

* a policy document
* a financial plan
* an operations guide
* a communications device

Budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four categories, and the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.

When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual or department designated as being primarily responsible for its having achieved the award. This has been presented to Lucas Janda, Business Manager.

Stafford MSD would like to extend appreciation to Teresa Sazedj for assisting Lucas Janda in preparing the award-winning budget.

Stafford Municipal School District is pleased to announce that the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) awarded the Meritorious Budget Award for its 2009/2010 budget.

The award represents a significant achievement by the District. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to achieving the highest standards of school budgeting.

Stafford MSD would like to extend appreciation to Teresa Sazedj for assisting Lucas Janda in preparing the award-winning budget.

Stafford Municipal School District officials annouced at the regular Board meeting on February 8, 2010 that the District had received a Gold Leadership Award for the Business Office implementing financial transparency online.

This award is earned by having such items as CIQ disclosures, CIS disclosures, monthly financial statement, etc. online.

The award is for a period of one year and the District can re-apply for it annually.

Stafford MSD would like to extend appreciation to Lucas Janda and Teresa Sazedj for maintaining a financially transparent Business Office website.

Stafford Municipal School District officials announced at the regular Board meeting on Monday, October 12, 2009, that the district received a rating of “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ Schools FIRST financial accountability rating system. The Superior Achievement rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Stafford MSD’s financial management and reporting system.

Stafford MSD received a rating of “Superior Achievement” under the Texas’ Schools FIRST financial accountability rating system for the fiscal year 2007-08 according to Lucas Janda, Business Manager for the district. This achievement demonstrates the quality of the financial management and reporting system of the district with Superior Achievement being the highest rating the state awards.

The Schools FIRST accountability rating system assigns one of four financial ratings to Texas school districts. The rating system consists of twenty-four indicators each with an assigned point value. To receive the “Superior Achievement” rating the district must receive a score of at lease 75. SMSD scored a total of 79 points.

The Schools Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas is a financial accountability system for Texas school districts that was developed in 1999 by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature. The primary goal of the Schools FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school district’s financial resources. A challenging goal due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.