TEMPLE, Texas — The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) has recognized Temple Independent School District with the organization’s Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting (COE). ASBO International’s COE recognizes districts that have met the program’s high standards for financial reporting and transparency. The school district earned the Certificate of Excellence for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ended 2022, marking the fourth consecutive year TISD has been recognized with the COE.
TISD’s ACFR features financial information, schedules, the annual audit report and notes. Those reports are sandwiched between an introductory informational statement describing a wide range of topics and a detailed statistical package that provides background for the financial report. The introductory narrative highlights everything from the district’s successes and major initiatives, to community economic conditions, to access to health care and post-graduate educational opportunities. The statistical section includes information ranging from number of staff, to student population, to tax rates and property values covering ten years of financial information for the district. The submission is a collaborative effort by the entire district finance staff. The finance staff was presented with the Certificate of Excellence at the TISD school board meeting on Monday (April 10).
“For the past several years, TISD has been recognized as a leader in financial transparency and accounting practices at the state, national and international levels,” said Dr. Bobby Ott, superintendent of Temple schools. “Even after our 2022 Bond, TISD still has one of the lowest total tax rates of any surrounding school district and has been able to lower the tax rate every year since 2018. Taking care of our taxpayers as well as our students is a responsibility that we take very seriously, as evident by these recognitions. Our goal has always been to take care of our students in a way that meets our community’s expectations, while remaining fiscally responsible and conservative to our taxpayers.”
By participating in the COE program, school districts demonstrate their commitment to financial transparency. Applicants submit their ACFR for review by a team of financial professionals who provide feedback to improve future documents. If the report meets the requirements of the program, it may receive the Certificate of Excellence. A district’s participation in the COE program can facilitate bond rating and continuing bond disclosure processes.