For the 19th year in a row, the St. Bernard Parish School District’s Department of Business Services was recognized for their dedication to fiscal efficiency and responsibility.

The Department of Business Services was commended for their work at the September 11 School Board meeting.

The award—Certificate of Achievement For Excellence in Financial reporting—is the highest honor in governmental financial reporting and is given to a select number of recipients annually by the Government Finance Officers Association.

Chief Financial Officer for St. Bernard Public Schools David Fernandez said that the award thanked his staff for their dedication to doing the job right.

“It’s a true testament to the workers in business services, they do a great amount of work and rise to the challenges they face everyday,” said Fernandez.

Adding to that, Superintendent of Schools Doris Voitier praised Fernandez and his team for their efficiency and competence.
“The public has to feel good knowing that their tax dollars are in the hands of a competent staff,” said Voitier. “As the district has grown over the years, there have been hundreds of millions of dollars that have passed through and we have not increased our staff to handle it—to make sure we go through all procedures necessary when dealing with public funds is an enormous task.”