A few months back, the finance department of the Putnam County Charter School System (PCCSS) received an award for its work from the Association of School Business Officials International.
On Monday night during the regularly scheduled PCCSS board meeting, the finance department also received an excellence in financial reporting recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association.
“What I want to emphasize is that less than 10 percent of the school systems in the state of Georgia, so less than 18 out of 180, received only one of these awards,” PCCSS Superintendent Eric Arena told the board. “But less than five school systems in the state of Georgia actually received both of these awards. And typically, if they do, it's a very large school system, Gwinnett, Cobb, those kinds of school systems that have hundreds of people in their departments.
“But the amount of rigor and what has to be turned in is exactly the same for every school system. And this staff is able to do it with just the folks that you see here,” Arena continued as he gestured to Tammy Kilgore, Nichole Crawford, Suzie Davis, Randy Pate, Judy Jones, and Coretta Harris. “So really what I want you to hear publicly is our appreciation for the high standards that you have, the dedication that you work towards, the hours and hours that you put in both during the regular day and all the hours that nobody sees. I want to thank you for holding the line on the rules even if folks don't want to hold the line.
“We are a charter school system, but the reality is we owe all of our financial reporting to the public because it is all public funds,” Arena added. “So, I appreciate your transparency, but I also appreciate your hard work and dedication.”