RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond Public Schools auditor is scrutinizing the district's use of procurement cards (p-cards), which are essentially credit cards issued to staff members that they can use to streamline smaller purchases.
While auditor Doug Graeff noted that overall controls of the program are effective and efficient, he also found several areas of weakness. Graeff presented his initial draft findings to the school board on October 18 in an email, which CBS 6 obtained through a public records request.
According to data he provided, total annual p-card spending across the division increased from $636,000 in 2020, which was impacted by the pandemic and virtual school, to $2.7 million in 2024. More than half of all p-card spending went toward instructional and office supplies.
However, Graeff noted that some staff are not properly logging their purchases in an effort to either avoid going over budget or to mask unauthorized expenses. Sometimes, he said transaction amounts were split into at least two different transactions to evade purchasing controls.
For example, the auditor found:
- $5,500 in food was charged as office supplies
- $5,000 in food was charged as staff development
- $2,200 in food had split receipts
- 250 chicken dinners were charged as office supplies
- Two shrimp dinners were charged as instructional supplies
- One employee used a p-card to reload a personal Starbucks account
Graeff noted that even though RPS logged $193,000 in "meals and meetings" in its p-card spending descriptions over the past five years, merchant category codes indicated that RPS spent $1.5 million on food with various vendors during that same time period.
Anne Forrester, RPS teacher and president of the Richmond Education Association, said ensuring all tax dollars are properly spent is critical considering many teachers have to dip into their own pockets to fund classroom necessities.
“We're oftentimes told by high-level administrators in central office, as well as politicians, that there's just simply not enough money, and so to see that money is not being used responsibly in some of these instances with the p-cards, it's really disappointing," Forrester said.
RPS spokesperson Alyssa Schwenk said annual p-card spending represents less than .05% of the overall budget, and the questionable purchases flagged by the auditor represent even less.
"In terms of next steps from the Administration, we'll follow procedure, which is to wait until the Board has a chance to review the draft, the auditor has a chance to finalize his report, and we'll follow the guidance and recommendations of the Board to ensure that we have strong, clear, and rigorous procedures in place," Schwenk said.
The auditor noted that the current p-card program staffing is inadequate to effectively manage transactions. Schwenk said one employee on the procurement team is responsible for handling the p-card program.
Some of Graeff's other initial findings included:
- A need to update p-card procedures and manual
- The p-card violations process is too lenient
- Individual schools and departments have been issued multiple cards, increasing risk of fraud or theft
- Travel expenses are difficult to track
“I’d be all for any sort of transparency and just more organized and streamlined processes with more oversight," Forrester said.
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