RICHMOND, Va. — New Richmond Public Schools auditor Douglass Graeff intended to publish his 2024 audit on the RPS website. However, he told the school board audit committee Tuesday night that he encountered some concerns from district staff when he requested publication of the report. In his presentation, he included an email detailing two district staff members raising potential concerns about publishing the full report. They suggested posting summaries of the audits or redacting certain sections of the report.
Graeff stated, “I’ve never seen a redacted audit report. That does not mean that we can't do that. It's just that the norm for RPS since 1978 has been to post in full.”
He said the two district staff members suggested the change due to concerns that audit reports could contain personal information.
The district’s director of communications and the chief of staff, who raised questions about redacting the report came to the meeting. Chief of Staff Shareyna Jones emphasized that the district supports posting the reports but wants to ensure the privacy of employees is respected.
“It’s not that we have specific items we think should be redacted; it’s just our 'spidey senses' telling us we should double-check and make sure,” Jones said.
However, the RPS auditor questions the need for this change, stating that reports have been published unredacted for decades. He has deferred the decision to the school board.
“I think it’s something the audit committee could obviously discuss here, but it's something that I think you would want to probably take to the greater board,” he said.
Graeff addressed questions from the board, indicating that best practices require him to include all necessary information in the reports. “For an audit report to be deemed good, it must provide as much information as possible for the reader to understand the matter,” he said.
Board members discussed the issues but did not reach any firm conclusions.
Board member Stephanie Rizzi noted the district's history with redaction and FOIA laws, stating, “We need to be really careful.”
Kathryn Ricard, another board member, emphasized the importance of transparency regarding audits, noting that practices vary across the Commonwealth.
The committee plans to consult with the district's attorneys on the legality of the proposed changes before bringing the matter before the full board for further discussion.
RPS reformed its audit process in 2023. Their website states that the previous method did not conform to standards and stated some audits could not be located or had not been done in nearly a decade.
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