U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced that the department received the Presidential Award for Management Excellence for significant achievements in improved agency wide financial performance. This is the highest recognition bestowed by the federal government to federal agencies for management excellence. The department is one of six agencies—selected from 61 nominations—whose achievements are being recognized with this award.

"This department and our nation's education system have come a long way since the president signed the No Child Left Behind Act," Secretary Paige said. "When I came to the department, I made a promise to get our house in order and become effective stewards of the taxpayers funds. Today, I'm proud to say that our financial statements have received a clean bill of health and we have embraced a permanent culture of excellence and accountability."

The department was the first cabinet-level agency to pass all Office of Management and Budget reporting requirements and attain the highest green status score on the President's Management Agenda for all elements of improved financial performance. The department launched a new financial accounting system, delivered timely and accurate financial data and reduced administrative expenditures to about 2 percent of its total budget—allowing about 98 cents of every dollar to benefit our nation's 76 million students in primary through post secondary education.

From a financial management perspective, the department is unique among federal government agencies. The department has a high number of appropriations, over 200, which must be managed, consolidated and accounted for. Yet, it maintains the smallest number of employees while managing the third-largest discretionary budget of Cabinet-level agencies.

The Department administers an annual budget in excess of about $67 billion by directing educational programs that benefit underserved student populations of all ages and by delivering grants and loans to America's postsecondary students. "Every American, whether native-born or immigrant, has a stake in the nation's educational success and millions of individuals directly benefit from the department's operation today," said Paige.

To direct the department's management improvement efforts, Secretary Paige created a Management Improvement Team. The team coordinated the resolution of management issues and became a permanent clearinghouse for ongoing administrative improvements. This group examined ways to cultivate leadership and improve the quality of work within the department, establishing performance standards tied to its strategic goals.

For more details on management improvement, visit the department's priorities Web page at http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/mission/priorities.html.

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