Bryan County Schools is just one of eight districts statewide to receive 4.5 stars out of five on a new Financial Efficiency Star Ratings system released last week by the Georgia Department of Education. Only one district — Forsyth County — earned a 5-star rating.

“We are very pleased with our 4.5-star rating; that clearly indicates we expend our resources in a manner that impacts student achievement,” Bryan County Schools Superintendent Paul Brooksher said. “Our school and district administrators should be commended for ensuring that we manage our taxpayer funds in a fiscally sound manner with a focus on instructional needs.”

The Financial Efficiency Star Rating measures an individual school district’s per-pupil expenditure in relation to the academic achievements of its students. The rating is based on a three-year average of per-pupil spending associated with the district’s three-year College and Career Ready Performance Index average score.

This is the first release of such data, according to the state, and the ratings are based on the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years. Only districts are rated currently, but individual schools will be rated next year.

Bryan County Schools spent $51 million in 2012-13 with 7,726 students for a per-pupil expenditure of $6,568. Those numbers in 2013-14 were $52 million, 7,978 students and a per-pupil expenditure of $6,520. In 2014-15, the district spent $53.6 million on 8,263 students for a per-pupil expenditure of $6,498. Its average per-pupil expenditure over that time frame was $6,526.

The district’s average CCRPI score over the three years was 81.1. According to the data, only 19 districts had better averages during the same timeframe.

For the 2014-15 school year, Bryan County’s CCRPI was 78.8 while the statewide average was 75.5. That score earned the district a C in the first year the state assigned letter grades to schools based on the scores.