Superintendent Jack Smith announced on November 12, 2009, that the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) awarded to Calvert County Public Schools the Meritorious Budget Award for excellence in the preparation and issuance of a 2009-2010 school system budget.
“Being recognized by an international organization for our high standard of excellence in budget presentation is a significant achievement for Calvert County Public Schools,” said Tammy McCourt, Chief Budget and Business Officer for the school system.
The Meritorious Budget Award Program sponsored by ING helps school systems build a solid foundation in the skills of developing, analyzing, and presenting a budget. According to the association’s website, a meritorious budget “is a financial plan, a policy guide, an operations guide, and a communications tool.”
McCourt said that the new budget presentation helps the school system and benefits the community. “Redesigning the presentation of our budget provides our community with a clear and concise understanding of not only where the monies are being dedicated, but the resulting performance outcomes,” she said. “In today’s economy, there is a heightened level of awareness of accountability and the timing of receiving this recognition speaks volumes to reconfirming the commitment we have to being good fiscal stewards and dedicating our resources to our overarching focus – student learning.”
ASBO’s website says that the development of a meritorious budget “encourages both short- and long-term budget goals… and defines and encourages state of the art budget practices.”
According to an ASBO press release, “the Meritorious Budget Award is only conferred to school systems that have met or exceeded the Meritorious Budget Award Program Criteria.”