Don Lazenby has a knack for making sense of the numbers in his job as Pasadena ISD's director of budget.

For the sixth year in a row, Lazenby was given the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International at the March regular board meeting. Lazenby has served as the district's director of budget since 1992.

The award is given for excellence in the preparation and issuance of school system annual budgets and for districts exceeding standard budget development criteria.

The Meritorious Budget Awards program was designed by ASBO International and school business management professionals to enable school business administration to achieve a standard of excellence in budget preparation. The program helps school systems in the skills of developing, analyzing and presenting a budget.

According to ASBO International, the award is only given to school districts that have gone above and beyond normal standards in budget planning and preparation.