SOUTH CENTRAL SERVICE COOPERATIVE

SCSC and Member Districts Receive School Finance Awards

South Central Service Cooperative and 12 of its member districts have been awarded the 2009 Finance Award from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). Since FY 2003, MDE has recognized school organizations that exhibit sound fiscal health and financial management policies and procedures. MDE’s School Finance Award is based on compliance with state statute on a number of finance issues and other means of demonstrating fiscal health.

Staff at MDE reviewed local publications, audit reports and thousands of pieces of fiscal data on reporting units to determine the award winners. There were a total of 97 winners or 17.51% of the 554 reporting units for FY 2008. There were 38 new entries to the winners list this year. Of the 97 winners this year, 43 units or 44% were charter schools, 52 units or 54% were traditional school districts, and two were regional or intermediate units. There were 149 charter schools reporting; 340 traditional school districts reporting and 65 regions, intermediates and cooperative units reporting.

Since its inception in FY 2003, there have been 128 units that have earned the award in one or more years. Each year the award was clarified and became more rigorous and more criteria were added or strengthened as the bar continues to rise.

Congratulations to the following SCSC member districts who were recognized: