Texas Border Business
Edinburg, Texas – The Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees recently honored the district’s Finance Department for earning four top financial awards, including a national financial reporting achievement award, the Texas Education Agency’s Superior Achievement Rating, and the Texas Comptroller’s Financial Transparency awards in the areas of Traditional Finance and Debt Obligations.
“We are honored to receive these four prestigious awards, which is a collaboration of the hard-working staff in our Finance Department,” said ECISD Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Dr. Rebecca Morrison. “This would not be possible without the leadership and oversight provided by our Board of Trustees and our superintendent, Dr. René Gutiérrez.”
For the second consecutive year, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the Edinburg CISD Finance Department for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).
The award is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
The second award is the Superior Achievement Rating from the Texas Education Agency, which Edinburg CISD has earned for 15 years in a row.
According to TEA, the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) is designed to encourage public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.
The ratings are based on annual financial reports provided to TEA by districts and charters from the 2016 fiscal year. The financial accountability system requires TEA to review the audited financial reports from all districts and charters.
The third and fourth awards are from the Texas Comptroller’s office, where the Finance Department received recognition from the state through the Comptroller’s Transparency Stars program.
Since 2012, Edinburg CISD has received a star in Traditional Finances, which recognizes entities for their outstanding efforts in making their spending and revenue information available.
For the first time this year, the district received a star in Debt Obligations, which recognizes entities whose websites show visual and narrative detail on outstanding debt, tax-supported debt obligations, historical bond elections and more.
Transparency Stars recognize local government entities that provide easy online access to important financial data.
