The Saratoga Springs City School District is proud to announce that it has received the 2026 Pinnacle of Excellence Award, the highest honor presented by ASBO International (Association of School Business Officials International). The award recognizes innovative school district projects that demonstrate exceptional leadership, creativity, measurable impact, and stewardship of public resources. Saratoga Springs was recognized for its pioneering Participatory Budgeting initiative.
Only one school district in the United States receives the Pinnacle of Excellence Award each year, making it one of the most prestigious honors in school business management and educational leadership. Saratoga Springs City School District was selected from a national field of innovative projects for engaging students directly in school improvement and capital planning decisions.
Dr. Joseph Greco, Director of Personnel Development, accepted the award on behalf of the District during the Best in School Business Awards Ceremony at the ASBO International Annual Conference & Expo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 14.
“Receiving a national award that recognizes only one school district in the entire country each year is a truly extraordinary honor,” said Greco. “What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it belongs to our students and teacher leaders. They demonstrated that when students are given authentic opportunities to solve real-world problems, they rise to the challenge in remarkable ways.”
The nationally recognized project, Participatory Budgeting for High School Students, reimagined capital planning by inviting students to help shape their school environment. Students researched district needs, developed project proposals, evaluated costs and benefits, collaborated with administrators, and voted on improvements to be funded by the District.
According to ASBO International, the initiative transformed budgeting from a behind-the-scenes financial process into an authentic educational experience. Students gained firsthand experience with civic responsibility, public finance, consensus building, project planning, and democratic decision-making. The organization cited the program as a model for using school business operations as teaching tools while strengthening transparency and trust among stakeholders.
“We are very proud of our student participatory budgeting process and this innovative approach to increasing student voice and engagement in the capital project planning process,” said Dr. Michael Patton, Superintendent of Schools. “Our students were totally invested in providing feedback and exploring ways to help improve the learning environment of our high school. Participatory budgeting is an effective leadership tool for students to gain experience researching, advocating, planning, and implementing projects that will have a positive impact on our school.”
Voices from the Program
The initiative’s success reflects the collective efforts of students, teachers, school leaders, and district administrators who worked together to create an authentic model of student-led decision-making.
“Being able to voice their concerns, along with proposing solutions to address them, has empowered our students to be engaged citizens in our school. Participatory Budgeting is also educating our students on voting, decision making, learning about resource management, communicating with stakeholders to evaluate feasibility, and engaging our students overall in taking action to make our school community better and stronger.”- Michelle Tsao, Principal, Saratoga Springs High School
“It’s been our joy as teacher advisors to watch our students grow throughout the Participatory Budgeting process. They have worked collaboratively to understand the needs of their community, used thoughtful research and creative problem-solving to develop feasible solutions, and ultimately left their school better than they found it. They’ve learned not only about civic engagement, but also about their own voices as leaders and their ability to create meaningful change.” Caitlyn Gironda, Participatory Budgeting Teacher Leader
“I loved collaborating and working with peers while making an impact in our school community.” – Ava Burger, Grade 12, Participatory Budgeting Committee Member
“The opportunity to have a voice in district decisions has been an empowering experience. And getting to see the work we put in create change has been even more fulfilling.”- Ellie O’Brien, Grade 11, Participatory Budgeting Committee Member
“We joined participatory budgeting last year because we thought a new club would be fun. We ended up making new friends and being a part of our school’s decision making. It was a great feeling to represent a voice for all students.” – Angelina Agostinello and Olive Hirliman, Grade 10, Participatory Budgeting Committee Members
In its published project summary, ASBO International described Saratoga Springs’ Participatory Budgeting initiative as a model that prepares future community leaders while improving schools today. By connecting fiscal stewardship with authentic student engagement, the District created an experience that has now been recognized as the top school business project in the nation for 2026.
In addition to national recognition, the District will receive a $10,000 furniture award sponsored by Virco, Inc., which may help support future student-driven improvement projects identified through the participatory budgeting process.
The District hopes this recognition will bring additional attention to the value of student voice in educational decision-making and encourage other school systems across the country to provide students with meaningful opportunities to participate in shaping their schools and communities.