
The
Association
of
School
Business
Officials
International
(ASBO)
has
awarded
Prince
William
County
Public
Schools
with
the
Meritorious
Budget
Award
(MBA)
for
the
2020-21
budget
year.
This
is
the
23
rd
consecutive
year
that
PWCS
has
earned
this
award,
and
PWCS
was
the
first
school
division
in
Virginia
to
earn
this
award
in
1997.
This
award
recognizes
best
practices
for
budget
presentations
for
school
districts.
To
be
eligible
for
the
award,
participants
must
submit
an
application
and
their
documents
for
the
budget
year
to
a
panel
of
school
financial
officials.
The
officials
review
the
materials
to
ensure
the
application
and
budget
documents
meet
their
standards
using
the
MBA
"criteria
checklist,"
and
also
provide
helpful
feedback
to
school
districts
on
ways
they
can
improve
their
budget
presentations.
School
districts
in
their
first
or
second
year
applying
are
eligible
for
the
Pathway
to
MBA
program
to
ease
into
MBA
compliance.
Returning
districts
that
meet
program
requirements
are
then
eligible
to
apply
to
the
MBA
program.
To
earn
this
award,
the
MBA
checklist
states
the
school
budget
should
reflect,
"a
technically
well-prepared
[budget],
clear
and
logical
in
its
narration
of
facts
and
data,
mathematically
accurate
and
free
of
spelling
and
grammatical
errors,
and
have
consistent
formatting
throughout
including
writing
style."
In
a
press
release,
ASBO
International
Executive
Director
David
J.
Lewis
shared,
"Districts
that
apply
to
the
MBA
or
Pathway
to
the
MBA
programs
recognize
the
importance
of
presenting
a
high-quality,
easy-to-understand
budget
internally
and
to
the
community.
By
participating
in
the
programs,
not
only
do
districts
have
access
to
the
tools
and
resources
they
need
to
communicate
the
district's
goals
and
objectives
clearly,
they
demonstrate
their
commitment
to
upholding
nationally
recognized
budget
presentation
standards."
To
learn
more
about
the
ABSO
and
their
MBA
program,
please
visit
their
website.