RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond Public Schools audit found that the district's fraud and abuse tip line was not checked for over a year and the email account had 700 unopened emails.
Doug Graeff, the Director of School Board Audit Services, shared the 2024 Year-End Whistleblower Report and process review with the Richmond School Board's audit committee at the late January subcommittee meeting.
In the report, he found the tip line had not been maintained for over a year.
He also found the email account was in a similar situation and had 700 unopened emails dating back to 2014.
While he noted the majority of emails were spam, Graeff said some emails were whistleblower complaints.
The report listed 70 total whistleblower complaints found from all reporting measures.
He wrote those complaints all fell outside the purview of fraud, waste, and abuse, but he reported them to the corresponding departments.
The complaints ranged from people reporting alleged poor social media behavior of staff members, staff allegedly disclosing student data, RPS vehicles allegedly being used for personal trips, a child allegedly being placed too long in a restorative room, possible food distribution theft, and a sex offender possibly gaining access to a school.
The audit detailed that Graeff took action to ensure new procedures and policies were in place moving forward to keep all whistleblower reporting outlets current.
He reported that substantial issues will automatically be immediately acted upon and disclosed to the appropriate party.
A semi-annual report of whistleblower complaints will also be sent to the board.
A spokesperson for RPS emailed a statement saying tip lines fall under the oversight of the Board.
RPS School Board Vice Chair and audit committee chair Matthew Percival issued the following statement:
“The members of this current board all ran with a focus on good governance, and while some of the details about the tip line's role in the last decade have been lost to time, it's clear that the previous Board made strides in strengthening the Board's capacity for oversight. Accountability and transparency are central to good governance, and we're pleased that the tip line will provide both to taxpayers. Moving forward, our hope and expectation is that anyone with concerns can leverage this tip line. Our commitment to Richmonders is that it will be checked regularly and thoroughly.”
The entire school board was supposed to hear this report at their work session Monday; however, it was deferred.
The next Whistleblower report is expected to be issued by the Audit Services department in mid-2025.
The board hired Graeff in October 2023 to review past efforts of this department, which was tasked with reviewing overall fraud, waste, and abuse efforts.
This came right before an Internal Quality Review Assessment indicated that Internal Audit work did not conform to the Institute of Internal Auditors' Standards and Practices.
The school board at the time also established an audit committee.
The website states they took these steps to better “manage and revitalize the function.”
According to the district's website, the department was established to provide RPS employees and the general public a confidential way to report fraud, waste, or abuse.
The website listed that could include theft or misuse of school funds or property, record falsification, abuse of authority, kickbacks, corruption, or bribery.
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