Pearland Independent School District’s Business Office recently received three awards recognizing its financial excellence, including the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) for Fiscal Year 2020-21, the GFOA Award of Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting for Fiscal Year 2020-21 and an “A” for Superior Achievement under School Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas (FIRST).

Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting – GFOA and ASBO

Pearland ISD was recently awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. The report was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report. The attainment of the Certificate of Excellence from both organizations reflects a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

GFOA Award of Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting for Fiscal Year 2020-21

Pearland ISD received the award for Popular Annual Financial Reporting from GFOA for the preparation of its Annual Financial Report Summary, which extracts information from the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and presents it in a way that is accessible and easily understandable by the general public and other interested parties without a background in public finance.

These two awards are acknowledgments of the district’s ongoing efforts to achieve excellence in financial reporting and increase financial transparency.

“A” for Superior Achievement under School Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas (FIRST)

Pearland ISD received an “A” for Superior Achievement under School Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas (FIRST) for the 2021-22 rating year based on the 2020-21 school year data.

The Superior Achievement rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Pearland’s financial management and reporting system. A score of 90 out of a possible 100 earns the rating of Superior Achievement and Pearland received a score of 92.

This is the 20^th year of School FIRST, a financial accountability system for Texas school districts implemented by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). 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.

TEA 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 Substandard Achievement.

(11/11/22)