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Despite budget concerns and controversies of the past, the Lynwood Unified School District has been able to move forward and earn a “positive” certification from the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

According to the district, the award was given for having a “balanced budget and maintaining reserves.” This means, officials added, that the district is able to meet its financial obligations for the rest of the 2011-2012 fiscal year and the next two years. This was the first time in two years the district has won the award.

“Thanks to the hard work of the unions and the staff, Lynwood Unified’s budget is in ‘positive’ territory for the first time in two years,” said Alfonso Morales, president of the Lynwood Unified School District Board of Education in a press release. “I’m very excited about our comeback. We are forging ahead to make Lynwood Unified a model school district financially and academically.”

The recognition follows the arrest last week of a former Lynwood school district official who allegedly embezzled $700,000 in school funds for his personal use. William Douglas Agopian, the district's former chief business officer, was scheduled for arraignment Tuesday on 21 felony charges.

Currently, the LUSD serves more than 15,000 students on a budget of $78 million, nearly 88 percent of which goes toward employee salaries and benefits. Like many other school districts in California, the LUSD faced a budget crisis that was the worst ever experienced by many officials and teachers.

The factors that exacerbated LUSD’s budget crisis included a declining student body and severe cuts in funding. District officials said the per-pupil base revenue for Lynwood schools is almost 20 percent below statutory levels.

The positive certification from LACOE officials represents a major step forward for a district that just 18 months ago was at risk of being taken over by the state. To reconcile the budget, efforts such as wage freezes, imposition of furlough days and increases in health care costs were all used to help bring the budget into balance.

“Externally, the District cannot control the unpredictability of the state budget and the volatility of the global economy, but internally, the District is determined to take all necessary actions to continue the fiscal recovery process,” wrote Peter Wong, new chief business official for the LUSD in the district’s latest financial report.